kakistocracy
ka·kis·to·cra·cy/kækɪsˈtɑkɹəsi/noun
kakistocracy is spelled K-A-K-I-S-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y: 12 letters and 5 syllables (ka·kis·to·cra·cy). It appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kakistocracy means “Government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kakistocracy is kakistocracies.
How many letters and syllables are in kakistocracy?
| Letters | 12: K-A-K-I-S-T-O-C-R-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: ka·kis·to·cra·cy |
| In writing | about once in every 87 million words; the 297,763rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is kakistocracy?
Kakistocracy appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kakistocracy?
- UK /kækɪsˈtɒkɹəsi/
- US /kækɪsˈtɑkɹəsi/
Kakistocracy has 5 syllables, split ka·kis·to·cra·cy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kakistocracy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with kakistocracy?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kakistocracy from its last stressed vowel (/ɑkɹəsi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of kakistocracy
- kakistocracies plural
- cacistocracy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kakistocracy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kakistocracy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense government by the worst citizens:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | kakistocratie |
| German | Kakistokratie |
| Portuguese | caquistocracia |
| Spanish | cacocracia, caquistocracia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kakistocracy come from?
From Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, “worst”), superlative of κακός (kakós, “bad”) + -κρατία (-kratía, “power, rule, government”) (corresponding to -cracy). The word was used, perhaps re-coined, by the English author Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866) in his 1829 novella The Misfortunes of Elphin as the opposite of aristocracy (see second quotation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).