noun
- government or rule by the mob; a system in which the masses exercise power in a disorderly or violent manner.
Usage: formal; often used in political or historical contexts
Examples
- The political theorist warned that unchecked populism could devolve into ochlocracy.
- During the revolution, the city descended into ochlocracy as angry crowds took control of the streets.
- Historians debate whether the period represented true democracy or ochlocracy.
- The government feared ochlocracy more than any organized opposition.
- Philosophers have long distinguished between legitimate popular rule and ochlocracy.