idiocracy

noun

id·​i·​oc·​ra·​cy ˌi-dē-ˈä-krə-sē 

plural idiocracies

1

: a society governed or populated by idiots (see idiot sense 1)

Our nation is turning into an idiocracy.

—Neil deGrasse Tyson

2

: government by idiots (see idiot sense 1)

As we lurch toward idiocracy—the real thing, not the movie—we must change course.

—John Kass

Examples of idiocracy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nothing about the foolishness and outrageousness of what the movie shows us — no matter how virtuosically sliced and diced by McKay’s characteristically jittery editor, Hank Corwin — can really compete with the horrors of our real-world American idiocracy. —Tribune News Service, cleveland, 10 Dec. 2021

Which brings us to America's idiocracy in 2021. —Jeffrey Sachs, CNN, 20 July 2021

Of course, the idiocracy extends beyond West Virginia. —Jeffrey Sachs, CNN, 20 July 2021

Stop pandering to the bottom 33% of idiocracy with titles like this. —Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2023

McKay’s characteristically jittery editor, Hank Corwin — can really compete with the horrors of our real-world American idiocracy. —Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2022

The American people, and the people of the world, deserve better than an American idiocracy. —Jeffrey Sachs, CNN, 20 July 2021

Word History

Etymology

idio- (taken as combining form of idiot) + -cracy

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined at sense 1