Phrase guide

representative democracy

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A form of government where the people elect representatives who, on their behalf, propose and approve laws and administer the government.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: government, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indirect democracy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: democràcia representativa — representative democracy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 代議民主制 /代议民主制 (dàiyì mínzhǔzhì) — representative democracy
  • Dutch: representatieve democratie — representative democracy
  • Finnish: edustuksellinen demokratia — representative democracy
  • French: démocratie représentative — representative democracy
  • Georgian: წარმომადგენლობითი დემოკრატია (c̣armomadgenlobiti demoḳraṭia) — representative democracy
  • German: repräsentative Demokratie — representative democracy
  • Indonesian: demokrasi perwakilan — representative democracy
  • Italian: democrazia rappresentativa — representative democracy
  • Occitan: democracia representativa — representative democracy
  • Polish: demokracja pośrednia — representative democracy
  • Polish: demokracja przedstawicielska — representative democracy
  • Portuguese: democracia representativa — representative democracy
  • Romanian: democrație reprezentativă — representative democracy
  • Russian: представи́тельная демокра́тия (predstavítelʹnaja demokrátija) — representative democracy
  • Spanish: democracia representativa — representative democracy
  • Swedish: representativ demokrati — representative democracy
  • Turkish: temsilî demokrasi — representative democracy
  • Ukrainian: представни́цька демокра́тія (predstavnýcʹka demokrátija) — representative democracy
  • Vietnamese: dân chủ đại diện — representative democracy