idiocracy
idiocracy Lexical Profile
idiocracy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A society or system of government ruled by, or composed of, ignorant, foolish, or incompetent people.
"Critics argued that the steady decline in civic education was pushing the political system toward an idiocracy."
Personal self-rule or absolute self-government (now rare or obsolete).
"Early political philosophers occasionally contrasted collective sovereignty with the pure idiocracy of the isolated individual."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern usage, 'idiocracy' almost always functions as a satirical or pejorative blend of 'idiot' and '-cracy' (rule by idiots), completely overshadowing its rare, historical 17th-century sense of personal self-rule.
• Rhymes for idiocracy
Word Origin & Etymology
Modern usage is a blend of 'idiot' and '-cracy' (from Ancient Greek 'kratos', meaning 'rule' or 'power'), popularized by the 2006 satirical film 'Idiocracy'. An older, obsolete sense meaning 'self-rule' derived directly from Ancient Greek 'idiokratia' ('idios', meaning 'one's own', plus 'kratos').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.