de·moc·ra·cy /di'mäkr?se/ Noun A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. A state governed in such a way. re·pub·lic noun \ri-'p?-blik\ Definition of REPUBLIC 1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b (1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government