I still disagree. As was pointed out earlier, the word literally means "rule by the people", and that is a pretty broad definition. I think there's plenty of reason for America to be considered a democracy. Besides, if you're going to argue that it's not a democracy because it's not a "true" democracy, then you have to allow that the notion of a "true" democracy is a figment of your imagination, as it has never actually existed, and is in fact completely impractical.
Also, to use a different form of government as an analogy: neither the Soviet Union nor China did or does adhere to Marx's and Engels' definition of "communism", yet both countries are considered to be communist.
Inb4 the Soviet Union wasn't really communist. It's moot, because words are defined as the people define them, and popular opinion always wins out. Just as the word "communism" evolved over time to include regimes like the Soviet Union's and China's, the word "democracy" has evolved to include governments like the US's.