Democracy and Oligarchy

Opposite meaning words

Democracy noun - Government in which the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation.

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Oligarchy is an antonym for democracy.

Oligarchy noun - A political system governed by a few people.

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Democracy is an antonym for oligarchy in dictatorship topic.

Nearby Words: oligarch, oligarchic

It was ostensibly a democracy, but in truth an oligarchy of a few rich, powerful families ran the place.

Source: Hereditary Republic
Even the Saturnian Senate seems to be more of an oligarchy of wealthy families than an actual democracy.

Source: Feudal Future
Lithuania is now a member of NATO and The European Union, having become a prosperous democracy religiously themed oligarchy under democracy's name and put all the horrors and enmities of the past behind.

Source: Useful Notes / Lithuania

Cite this Source

Oligarchy and Democracy. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 28, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/democracy/oligarchy

Democracy & Oligarchy. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/democracy/oligarchy>.

Oligarchy or Democracy. 2016. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/democracy/oligarchy.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "democracy" and "oligarchy" have occurred on timeline