idiocracy

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UK/ˌɪdiˈɒkɹəsi/US/ˌɪdiˈɑkɹəsi/

noun

A government run by idiots.

Opposite
Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounidiocracy (countable and uncountable, plural idiocracies)

plural idiocracies

  1. countablehumorousuncountablegovernmentA government run by idiots.
    1 more example

    In trying to explain why our political paralysis seems to have gotten so much worse over the past year, analysts have rounded up a plausible collection of reasons including: President Obama's tactical missteps, the obstinacy of congressional Republicans, rising partisanship in Washington, the blustering idiocracy of the cable-news stations, and the Senate filibuster, which has devolved into a super-majority threshold for any important legislation.

    2010 February 6, Jacob Weisberg, “Down With the People”, in Slate, archived from the original on 28 Jun 2019
  2. countablederogatoryslanguncountableA society where idiocy is the norm, often denoting the current state of the world.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

Origin

  1. Englishidiot
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kret-
  3. Ancient Greekκρᾰ́τος (krắtos)
  4. Englishidiocracy

From idiot + -cracy. The word was coined by the writers of a 2006 movie about the topic, which some have interpreted as presaging, through caricature, the state of the world.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French idiocratie
  • idiocratiegovernment by idiots
Portuguese idiocracia
  • idiocraciagovernment by idiots
Russian идиократия
  • идиократия (idiokratija)government by idiots
Spanish idiocracia
  • idiocraciagovernment by idiots

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with idiocracy

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

idiocracy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiocracy

MLA

“idiocracy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiocracy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “idiocracy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiocracy.

Source: idiocracy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.