republic noun re·​pub·​lic ri-ˈpə-blik Synonyms of republic 1 a(1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) : a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government b(1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) : a political unit (such as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit the French Fourth Republic