Actual political scientists use the term to describe the US. Everyone knows what it means as a blanket, general term for a class of governmental systems. Unless

Actual political scientists use the term to describe the US. Everyone knows what it means as a blanket, general term for a class of governmental systems. Unless there's a good reason to split that hair, they don't, and you shouldn't either. No-one's confused or gets the wrong idea when someone describes the US as a democracy.