representative democracy
noun
plural representative democracies
: democracy in which the power is exercised by the people through their elected representatives : a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc.
One challenge to representative democracy is that voters must select from a small number of candidates to indicate their wants across many policy areas. Each candidate campaigns on a portfolio of different policies but none of these portfolios necessarily matches what the voter would prefer.—
Seth J. Hill
Seth J. Hill
also
: a country, state, or territory whose form of government is representative democracy compare direct democracy, pure democracy
Examples of representative democracy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But those are, fundamentally, questions that in a representative democracy should be submitted to the legislature.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
But the flat line in women’s congressional representation between this year and next is a reminder that gender disparities in our representative democracy remain a problem in need of targeted, intentional, and sustained solutions.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
Still, Hartmann said there is need for foundations across ideologies to support connecting people with one another and to the civic institutions that can create a more stable, representative democracy.
—Alex Daniels, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024
And within the government’s attempt to build a more representative democracy is a push to win the political support of traditionally remote populations, some of which have been affected by ongoing ethnic conflict and social tensions.
—Keith Rabin, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2015
But their effects on political discourse, representative democracy, and constitutional government have been, on the whole, malign.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
The left, Vought continued, has the ultimate goal of ending representative democracy altogether.
—Molly Redden, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
The Editors, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
But the flat line in women’s congressional representation between this year and next is a reminder that gender disparities in our representative democracy remain a problem in need of targeted, intentional, and sustained solutions.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
Still, Hartmann said there is need for foundations across ideologies to support connecting people with one another and to the civic institutions that can create a more stable, representative democracy.
—Alex Daniels, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024
And within the government’s attempt to build a more representative democracy is a push to win the political support of traditionally remote populations, some of which have been affected by ongoing ethnic conflict and social tensions.
—Keith Rabin, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2015
But their effects on political discourse, representative democracy, and constitutional government have been, on the whole, malign.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
The left, Vought continued, has the ultimate goal of ending representative democracy altogether.
—Molly Redden, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2024
Articles Related to representative democracy
Dictionary Entries Near representative democracy
Cite this Entry
“Representative democracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/representative%20democracy. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share