Definition of kleptocrat in English:
kleptocrat
noun ˈklɛptə(ʊ)kratˈklɛptəˌkræt
A ruler who uses their power to steal their country's resources.
Example sentencesExamples
- We find ourselves ruled (politically, economically, culturally, and ethically) by a confederacy of kleptocrats.
- As a result, Leftists and kleptocrats become de facto allies fighting against the progress and development of 3rd-world peoples.
- Switzerland is awash with retired dictators and kleptocrats with their millions.
- Africa's problem is one of despots and kleptocrats.
- The only thing that the West could do is to stop providing safe places for kleptocrats to hide their stolen money.
- An obstructionist Duma that is in the hands of reactionaries and special interests like the kleptocrats was of benefit to no-one except those parties.
- Most commentators argue that it will stand or fall on whether the continent's leaders possess the will to deal with dictators and kleptocrats.
- Sadly, it was the oligarchs, the kleptocrats and Western companies that benefited most from the increased prices.
- We've even seen aid disappear into the Swiss bank accounts of third-world kleptocrats.
Derivatives
noun klɛpˈtɒkrəsiˌklɛpˈtɑkrəsi
Then the country's emergent civil society collapsed beneath post-communist repression and the kleptocracy of regional robber barons.
Example sentencesExamples
- The antidote to kleptocracy is the age-old story of democratic struggle.
- But, as we have seen with Russia, if the ethical basis of free markets degenerates sufficiently, all that we have left is a form of kleptocracy.
- It is ruled by a corrupt kleptocracy of aristocrats who use their control of state monopolies and even the tax system to enrich themselves at the public's expense.
- But how many billions in foreign aid have been wasted over the decades due to the grandiose projects and corruption of dictatorships and kleptocracies?
adjective klɛptəˈkratɪkˌklɛptəˈkrædɪk
During the 32-year long kleptocratic rule of the authoritarian president Soeharto the huge Indonesian archipelago was ruled from Jakarta.
Example sentencesExamples
- Africa's poverty won't be lifted unless its kleptocratic governments and feudal economic systems change.
- Many of those who speak at the UN are representative of no one save the kleptocratic or autocratic cliques who hold power by force in their respective states.
- Aristide agreed to pay the debts accumulated under the kleptocratic Duvalier dictatorships, slash the civil service, open up Haiti to ‘free trade’ and cut import tariffs on rice and corn.
- It has experienced decades of repression by a kleptocratic military, communal violence and the degradation of a once vibrant economy.
Origin
1960s: from Greek kleptēs 'thief' + -crat.
Definition of kleptocrat in US English:
kleptocrat
nounˈkleptəˌkratˈklɛptəˌkræt
A ruler who uses political power to steal his or her country's resources.
Example sentencesExamples
- An obstructionist Duma that is in the hands of reactionaries and special interests like the kleptocrats was of benefit to no-one except those parties.
- We find ourselves ruled (politically, economically, culturally, and ethically) by a confederacy of kleptocrats.
- Switzerland is awash with retired dictators and kleptocrats with their millions.
- Africa's problem is one of despots and kleptocrats.
- We've even seen aid disappear into the Swiss bank accounts of third-world kleptocrats.
- The only thing that the West could do is to stop providing safe places for kleptocrats to hide their stolen money.
- As a result, Leftists and kleptocrats become de facto allies fighting against the progress and development of 3rd-world peoples.
- Sadly, it was the oligarchs, the kleptocrats and Western companies that benefited most from the increased prices.
- Most commentators argue that it will stand or fall on whether the continent's leaders possess the will to deal with dictators and kleptocrats.
Origin
1960s: from Greek kleptēs ‘thief’ + -crat.