interregnum

noun

in·​ter·​reg·​num ˌin-tə-ˈreg-nəm 

plural interregnums or interregna ˌin-tə-ˈreg-nə 

1

: the time during which a throne is vacant between two successive reigns or regimes

2

: a period during which the normal functions of government or control are suspended

3

: a lapse or pause in a continuous series

Did you know?

Every time a pope dies, there's an interregnum period before a new one is elected by the cardinals. In most democratic systems, however, the law specifies who should take office when a president or prime minister dies unexpectedly, and since the power usually passes automatically, there's no true interregnum. The question of succession—that is, of who should take over when a country's leader dies—has often presented huge problems for countries that lacked a constitution, and in monarchies it hasn't always been clear who should become king or queen when a monarch dies. The interregnum following the death of Edward VI in 1553, for instance, was briefly suspended when Lady Jane Grey was installed as Queen; nine days later she was replaced by Mary Tudor, who sent her straight to the Tower of London.

Synonyms

• discontinuity
• gap
• hiatus
• hiccup
• hiccough
• interim
• interlude
• intermission
• interruption
• interstice
• interval
• parenthesis

Examples of interregnum in a Sentence

the democratic regime proved to be a short-lived interregnum between dictatorships

Recent Examples on the Web

The motion picture industry first moved aggressively into polemical territory during the prewar interregnum from 1939 to 1941, when Europe was at war but America wasn’t. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024

Today, after a four-year neoliberal interregnum, Peronism is again on the rise. —Bruno Binetti, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2019

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and placeholder for Putin during a four-year interregnum, was characteristically militant in his comments on the tragedy. —Nathan Hodge, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024

In 2020, after an 800-year interregnum, parts of the land started shaking, quaking and inflating, signifying the incursion of magma from deep below. —Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from inter- + regnum reign — more at reign

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

interregnum

noun

in·​ter·​reg·​num ˌint-ə-ˈreg-nəm 

plural interregnums or interregna -nə 

: a period between two successive reigns or regimes