Ochlocracy
//ɒkˈlɒk.ɹə.si//
"Ochlocracy" in a Sentence (2 examples)
Referendums are snapshots of sentiment at a given point in time. Government by referendum is government by crowd acclamation: not democracy, but ochlocracy. That is exactly why we have representative democracy. If referendums would be a poor way to decide on health and safety, air traffic control, or education, they are an exceedingly poor way to decide a matter as momentous as membership of the EU. This is and should be a matter for Parliament, taking all factors into account.
This constitutes a grave threat to the American Republic and degrades it into an Ochlocracy, or government by mob rule.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.