autocracy

noun

au·​toc·​ra·​cy ȯ-ˈtä-krə-sē 

plural autocracies

1

: the authority or rule of an autocrat

2

: government in which one person possesses unlimited power

3

: a community or state governed by autocracy

Synonyms

• absolutism
• autarchy
• authoritarianism
• Caesarism
• czarism
• tsarism
• tzarism
• despotism
• dictatorship
• totalism
• totalitarianism
• tyranny

Examples of autocracy in a Sentence

the Magna Carta is historically important because it signified the British rejection of autocracy and constituted the first formal restraining of the power of the monarch

Recent Examples on the Web

Washington can also be more flexible by no longer framing its competition with China and Russia as a contest between democracy and autocracy. —Jeremy Friedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 July 2024

Accurately describing the dangers of autocracy and warning against attempts to dismantle our democracy have nothing to do with political violence. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 16 July 2024

President Joe Biden says this century will be defined by an existential contest between democracies and autocracies. —Reuters, NBC News, 4 July 2024

The more that Democrats associate Trump and his team with a plan for autocracy, the more Americans will reject Trump. —Vaughan Emsley, New York Daily News, 5 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "self-control," borrowed from Greek autokrateîa "self-control, power over oneself," from autokratḗs "ruling by itself (of a mind), with sole authority (for a task)" + -ia -y entry 2 — more at autocrat

Note: The word acquired the present meaning under the influence of Latin autocratōr (from about the fifth century on) and Greek autokrátōr, meaning "with sole authority," and later by association with autocrat. See note at autocrat.

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

autocracy

noun

au·​toc·​ra·​cy ȯ-ˈtäk-rə-sē 

plural autocracies

: government in which one person has unlimited power