Word.ws English Dictionary

dumbocracy

dumbocracy noun: a democracy, particularly an ineffective or dysfunctional one.

Noun

dumbocracy (usually uncountable, plural dumbocracies)

  1. (derogatory, slang, usually) A democracy, particularly an ineffective or dysfunctional one.
    • Democratic Hot Shot from a Republican Standpoint. Don’t vote for [George Hunt] Pendleton and poverty. The dumbocracy and aristocracy all support Pendleton and poverty. […] The Democracy are economical. That’s the reason they fail to pay the interest on the State debt, and pocketed the cash instead....1869 September 30, “Democratic Hot Shot from a Republican Standpoint”, in John T. Raper, editor, The Vinton Record, volume 20, number 6 (whole 995), McArthur, Oh., →ISSN, page [2], column 3
    • Dumbocracy in action. Is fatal --- get thee behind me, God!1980, Whole Earth Catalog (publisher), The Coevolution Quarterly - Issues 28-29, page 25

Examples of dumbocracy in a sentence

  • The dumbocracy and aristocracy all support Pendleton and poverty. […] The Democracy are economical.1869 September 30, “Democratic Hot Shot from a Republican Standpoint”, in John T. Raper, editor, The Vinton Record, volume 20, number 6...
  • It is more like a "dumbocracy" that the Minister of Energy might recognise.1985, New Zealand Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council and House of Representatives, Volume 468, page 9057:
  • The democratization of art and culture for political purposes will only make us dumber than we are, and dumbocracy in America is presently at its height.1994, John Reed Club, New York Branch (contributor), Partisan Review - Volume 61, page 713:

Forms of dumbocracy

pluraldumbocracies

Origin of dumbocracy

Blend of dumb + democracy or dumb + -o- + -cracy. First use appears c. 1869.

Questions about dumbocracy

What does dumbocracy mean?
Dumbocracy means a democracy, particularly an ineffective or dysfunctional one.
How do you use dumbocracy in a sentence?
The dumbocracy and aristocracy all support Pendleton and poverty. […] The Democracy are economical.
What part of speech is dumbocracy?
Dumbocracy is a noun.
What is the plural of dumbocracy?
The plural of dumbocracy is dumbocracies.

Words near dumbocracy in the dictionary

  1. dumbo ears
  2. dumbo octopus
  3. dumbo octopuses
  4. dumbo-eared
  5. dumbocracies
  6. dumbocracy
  7. Dumbocrap
  8. Dumbocraps
  9. dumbocrat
  10. dumbocrats
  11. dumbos

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dumbocracy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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