as in dictator
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
like some pharaoh of a third-world country, more interested in building monuments to himself than in creating a future for his people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pharaoh
In the latter, an anthropology student is consumed by her research on a rare female pharaoh that her colleagues dismiss as unimportant.
—
Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2025
The find marked the first time archaeologists have unearthed a pharaoh’s tomb since 1922, when King Tutankhamun’s burial site was identified.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 May 2025
And some of the pharaohs after Khufu include Khafre, Djedefra and Menkaure — the latter of whom was likely Shepsekaf's father.
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The city, about 300 miles south of Cairo, was a burial place for early pharaohs, and a necropolis developed at Anubis Mountain to the city’s south.
—Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2025
The find marked the first time archaeologists have unearthed a pharaoh’s tomb since 1922, when King Tutankhamun’s burial site was identified.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 May 2025
And some of the pharaohs after Khufu include Khafre, Djedefra and Menkaure — the latter of whom was likely Shepsekaf's father.
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The city, about 300 miles south of Cairo, was a burial place for early pharaohs, and a necropolis developed at Anubis Mountain to the city’s south.
—Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharaoh
Noun
-
So, this is all an opportunity for Donald Trump to play dictator in Washington, D.C.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Aug. 2025
-
This perception stems largely from the grip of the country’s dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.—
SVIATLANA TSIKHANOUSKAYA,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
President Trump is, once again, testing the limits of his power, hoping to intimidate other cities into submission to his every vengeful whim by making the once unimaginable—an American tyrant ordering a military occupation of our own capital—a terrifying reality.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Jack Nicholson’s McMurphy, a swaggering trickster figure, clashes with the institution’s quiet tyrant, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), in a battle not just of wills, but of worldviews: chaos versus order, freedom versus conformity.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pharaoh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharaoh. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share