Meanings
plural kakistocrats
- A very ill-qualified ruler; a member of a kakistocracy.
On the other hand, should the kakistocrats in Iran stick with the name of expediency to describe their power brokers?
2009 July 12, William Safire, “Newswords”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Feb 20211 more example
An obvious characteristic of a kakistocrat is inserting unqualified loyalists into positions of power. Nepotism and kakistocracy go hand-in-hand.
2024 November 17, Howie Klein, “A Plurality Of American Voters Have Embraced Kakistocracy As Their Preferred Form Of Governance”, in DownWithTyranny, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2024
Origin
- Ancient Greekκάκιστος“worst”
- Englishkakistocrat
From Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, “worst”), superlative of κακός (kakós, “bad”) + -κρατία (-kratía, “power, rule, government”) (corresponding to -crat).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French kakistocrate
- kakistocrateA very ill-qualified ruler; a member of a kakistocracy.
Cite this entry
kakistocrat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kakistocrat
“kakistocrat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kakistocrat. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kakistocrat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kakistocrat.
Source: kakistocrat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.