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History vocabulary · Revolutions and Political Change

Regime

Meaning in history, with examples

/reɪˈʒiːm/nounCommon term

In history, regime means: A system of government, or the group of people in power in a country for a certain period, often used for governments that are not democratic.

In Turkish: rejim, yönetim, düzen

How it is used

In modern English regime often sounds negative: an authoritarian regime, regime change. In history writing it can be neutral, as in the French phrase ancien régime, the political and social order of France before 1789.

Example sentences

  1. The old regime in France began to collapse in the summer of 1789.

  2. The new regime abolished the old titles and took over church land.

Common collocations

  • the old regime
  • ancien régime
  • authoritarian regime
  • regime change
  • the fall of the regime
  • revolutionThe sudden, often violent overthrow of a government or political system by its people, or any deep and rapid change in society, the economy or ideas.
  • coupA sudden and usually illegal seizure of power by a small group, often army officers, who remove the existing government by force or the threat of force.
  • monarchyA system of government in which a king, queen, emperor or other hereditary ruler is head of state, or a country governed in this way.
  • reformA planned change to laws, institutions or practices meant to improve them, usually made step by step by those in power rather than through revolution.

More terms: Revolutions and Political Change

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