representative democracy
noun
plural representative democracies
: democracy in which the power is exercised by the people through their elected representatives : a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc.
One challenge to representative democracy is that voters must select from a small number of candidates to indicate their wants across many policy areas. Each candidate campaigns on a portfolio of different policies but none of these portfolios necessarily matches what the voter would prefer.—
Seth J. Hill
Seth J. Hill
also
: a country, state, or territory whose form of government is representative democracy compare direct democracy, pure democracy
Examples of representative democracy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Sandinistas, who promised redistributive reforms within a framework of representative democracy, had a rare ability to appeal across a wide ideological spectrum.
—Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 8 Oct. 2025
Left unchecked, gerrymandering will seriously damage representative democracy through manipulation of voting power.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
But no one ever said this representative democracy thing was going to be easy, or endlessly uplifting.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
George Washington led troops in the American Revolution and stands for the birth of a representative democracy after rebelling against Britain’s monarchy.
—Lisa Meyers McClintick, USA Today, 21 June 2025
On one hand, the U.S. is a federal constitutional republic with a representative democracy and a free-market economy.
—Luis E. Romero, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Populist schemes like term limits, which deprive the legislature of experience, and ballot initiatives, which circumvent vetting processes, obstruct representative democracy.
—Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025
Such proclamations reflect a deep unease with the basic concept of representative democracy—a foundational if sometimes dormant element of liberalism itself that was reactivated in 2016 and is likely to assume larger proportions during the second Trump Administration.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
And that's just an intolerable way of proceeding under representative democracy.
—Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 8 Oct. 2025
Left unchecked, gerrymandering will seriously damage representative democracy through manipulation of voting power.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
But no one ever said this representative democracy thing was going to be easy, or endlessly uplifting.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
George Washington led troops in the American Revolution and stands for the birth of a representative democracy after rebelling against Britain’s monarchy.
—Lisa Meyers McClintick, USA Today, 21 June 2025
On one hand, the U.S. is a federal constitutional republic with a representative democracy and a free-market economy.
—Luis E. Romero, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Populist schemes like term limits, which deprive the legislature of experience, and ballot initiatives, which circumvent vetting processes, obstruct representative democracy.
—Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025
Such proclamations reflect a deep unease with the basic concept of representative democracy—a foundational if sometimes dormant element of liberalism itself that was reactivated in 2016 and is likely to assume larger proportions during the second Trump Administration.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
And that's just an intolerable way of proceeding under representative democracy.
—Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Representative democracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/representative%20democracy. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share