Autos in Greek means "same" or "self", so in an autocratic government all the power is held by the leader him- or herself. Autocratic governments are often called dictatorships, or sometimes autocracies. In everyday life, a teacher, a parent, or a football coach can all behave like autocrats as well.
democracy is supposed to protect the people against the rise of autocratic rulers
an autocratic Boy Scout leader who is under the delusion that he's still an army colonel
Recent Examples on the WebWhat happens to a child growing up amidst the clamour of an autocratic regime?—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024 This invulnerability to interdiction facilitates ties among Eurasia’s revisionists—just as the war in Ukraine pushes them closer together by making Russia more dependent on, and willing to cut deals with, its autocratic brethren.—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024 Ben-Gurion had autocratic tendencies and was consumed by party infighting during his later years in office.—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024 Russia’s autocratic president spent the first hour dragging his interlocutor along a languid tour of Russia’s history, beginning at the first East Slavic state in 862 and continuing into the modern era, with many detours along the way.—Noah Rothman, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024 After news of Kejriwal’s arrest broke, Gandhi condemned the government’s move as autocratic.—Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 Gulf kingdoms share China’s autocratic model for governance but historically fall in line with Washington on security.—TIME, 20 Mar. 2024 For an autocratic regime such as Putin’s, the President’s strength depends on everyone’s belief in that strength.—Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024 The two factions staged a coup in 2021 that derailed a previous transition following the 2019 overthrow of autocratic former leader Omar al-Bashir.—Reuters, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'autocratic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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