despot

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noun des·pot \ ˈdes-pət , -ˌpät \

Definition of despot

1 a :a Byzantine emperor or prince

b Christianity :a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church

c :an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance

2 a :a ruler with absolute power and authority

tyrannical despots

b :one exercising power tyrannically :a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way

regards the basketball coach as a despot

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Examples of despot in a Sentence

He was a successful basketball coach, but many people regarded him as a petty despot.
The company is run by a benevolent despot.

Recent Examples of despot from the Web

But in 2011 the Arab spring erupted, and Arab despots responded by muzzling their critics.

— The Economist, "To escape repression, critics are leaving the Gulf," 20 July 2017
Stalingrad, the site of a ferocious World War II battle—but after the mustachioed despot’s myriad sins were exposed, the city reverted to Volgograd in 1961.

— alexander nazaryan, MSNBC Newsweek, "Why Russia Still Loves Josef Stalin, One of the 20th Century's Most Brutal Despots," 7 July 2017
Whereas the Obama presidency kept the general at arm’s length, Trump’s counter-terrorism focus, anti-Islamism, and embrace of Arab despots are a godsend for Haftar.

— frederic wehrey, The Atlantic, "'Whoever Controls Benghazi Controls Libya'," 1 July 2017
Razze and Szot depict Perón as a reluctant political savior (rather than a minor despot of history) and present Eva’s life sympathetically (despite Che’s constant complaints).

— jim rutter, Philly.com, "'Evita' at Pennsylvania Shakespeare: Superbly sung, visually gorgeous, tender," 19 June 2017
The pariah state, ruled by youthful despot Kim Jong Un, has tested a series of missiles and repeatedly rattled its saber at its neighbors and the United States.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The intensifying strangeness of U.S.-North Korea relations," 14 June 2017
What Rubio, and other Latino Republicans leave out, is the role that the United States has played in these countries that have driven them to despots.

— stephen a. nuño, NBC News, "Opinion: Latino Republicans are Silent in the Face of Authoritarianism," 18 May 2017
Trump clearly realized that reports of his demanding Comey’s loyalty made him sound like a mafia don or a two-bit despot.

— e.j. dionne jr., The Mercury News, "Dionne: The autocrat in Donald Trump returns in force," 14 May 2017
Some remember the elder Kim as an obsessive despot that played a game of nuclear chicken with the West, deepened his nation’s isolation and swaggered around luxury palaces while many of his citizens starved.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Even sports news in North Korea is bizarre," 24 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'despot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of despot

Middle French despote, from Greek despotēs master, lord, autocrat, from des- (akin to domos house) + -potēs (akin to posis husband); akin to Sanskrit dampati lord of the house — more at dome, potent

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First Known Use: 1585

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