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 of autocracy

• tyranny
• dictatorship
• fascism
• despotism
• authoritarianism
• Communism

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

International experts have denounced President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s repression of the opposition and push to eliminate term limits as worrisome turns toward autocracy. — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

The Ostrich Army spoke of the impending incursion as the advent of jackboot autocracy, but plans to resist it seemed more equivocal. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Bluster and bravado are big parts of the playbook for North Korea, an isolated and oft-sanctioned autocracy that the Kim family has ruled since 1948. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Birth rates have plunged in social democracies and capitalist autocracies alike. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

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

Rhymes for autocracy

• bureaucracy
• democracy
• hypocrisy
• plutocracy
• theocracy
• aristocracy
• meritocracy

Kids Definition

autocracy

noun

au·​toc·​ra·​cy ȯ-ˈtäk-rə-sē 

plural autocracies

: government in which one person has unlimited power