republic

republic — noun

1. A nation that has an elected president as its head of state, where citizens vote

1.nounB1
Definition

A nation that has an elected president as its head of state, where citizens vote for representatives to govern on their behalf, and a single royal family does not hold inherited power.

Example

France became a republic after the revolution of 1789, ending centuries of royal rule.

The newly formed republic held its first free elections last month.

collocation: newly formed republic

Common collocations
  • declare a republic
  • establish a republic
  • found a republic
  • federal republic
  • parliamentary republic
  • democratic republic
  • island republic
  • independent republic
  • republic's constitution
Synonyms
  • democracy

    overlaps in meaning, but democracy focuses on citizen participation in decisions, while republic focuses on the absence of a monarch

  • commonwealth

    sometimes used for republics (the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), but also refers to a political community formed for the common good

Antonyms
  • monarchy

    a country ruled by a king, queen, or emperor who inherits the position

  • kingdom

    a country with a monarch as its head of state

Grammar Patterns

[noun] as subject

[noun] as object with article

Usage Note

Frequently used in official country names (the Republic of Korea, the Italian Republic). Contrasts with monarchy — a system where a king, queen, or emperor holds power by birth.

Common Mistakes

A republic and a democracy mean the same thing.
A republic is a country without a monarch; a democracy is a system where people vote on decisions.
A republic is defined by its head of state, while a democracy is defined by how decisions are made.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Republic and democracy are often used as if they mean the same thing, but each highlights a different feature. A republic is defined by its leadership structure: the head of state is an elected president, not a king or queen. A democracy emphasizes who makes decisions — whether through direct voting by citizens or through elected representatives. Many countries are both republics and democracies, such as India and South Korea. However, a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom is a democracy but not a republic. Commonwealth is a broader term that can describe a republic (Massachusetts calls itself a commonwealth) or an association of countries (the Commonwealth of Nations). Monarchy and kingdom are direct opposites of a republic. For example: 'France became a republic in 1792, while the United Kingdom remains a monarchy.'

republic ↗democracy ↗monarchycommonwealth ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • republic's government
  • republic's laws
  • citizens of the republic

Phrases

  • the Republic of

Prepositions

  • in a republic
  • of the republic

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Republic comes from the Latin phrase rēs pūblica, meaning 'public affair' or 'public thing.' The ancient Romans used rēs pūblica to describe their form of government, which had elected officials rather than a single ruler. English adopted the word in the early 1600s. The two Latin roots — rēs ('thing, affair') and pūblicus ('of the people') — together express the idea that the state belongs to its citizens, not to a hereditary ruler.