variants
also autocratical
1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
democracy is supposed to protect the people against the rise of autocratic rulers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
an autocratic Boy Scout leader who is under the delusion that he's still an army colonel
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of autocratic
The action travels back and forth between 1956, in the tense time leading up to the toppling of the autocratic Batista regime, and 1996, when the young producer Juan de Marcos (Justin Cunningham) assembles a backing band for the older singers he’s brought into the studio.
—
Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2025
Critics, including autocratic governments across the region, view it as a threat.
—Omar Akour, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
This new, more favorable vision of Russia was developing its own intellectual architecture, one that married isolationism, nationalism and traditionalism with a growing appreciation for autocratic strongmen who were bending their countries to their will.
—Eric Jason Martin Tanya Pérez Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
As Jews prepare to celebrate Passover’s theme of freedom, Israel and the United States face the prospect of autocratic rule.
—Ben Krull, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocratic
Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2025
Critics, including autocratic governments across the region, view it as a threat.
—Omar Akour, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
This new, more favorable vision of Russia was developing its own intellectual architecture, one that married isolationism, nationalism and traditionalism with a growing appreciation for autocratic strongmen who were bending their countries to their will.
—Eric Jason Martin Tanya Pérez Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
As Jews prepare to celebrate Passover’s theme of freedom, Israel and the United States face the prospect of autocratic rule.
—Ben Krull, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocratic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocratic
Adjective
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However, because ecocriticism emerged in American studies prior to the field’s transnational turn, during a time that emphasized the localized subject as resistance to an oppressive nation-state, ecocritical thought has struggled to adapt.—
Abby Clayton,
JSTOR Daily,
29 Apr. 2025
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And this immensely oppressive power threatens the very foundation of legal representation in our country.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Singapore, for instance, is highly economically free but sharply socially authoritarian.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
2 May 2025
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To his critics, his centralization of power and ruthless purge of opponents put Malaysia on an authoritarian trajectory.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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As the protagonist/antihero, audiences meet everyone through his eyes (and imperious narration) — and in his view, most people are shallow and irritating, especially the residents of Madre Linda.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
23 Apr. 2025
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Also amusing is Fiona Glascott as Lady Violet, an old acquaintance of Sherlock’s who specializes officially in schooling young ladies like Clara to join British high society and unofficially in casting her imperious judgment everywhere.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Photo: Obscured Pictures Building the world of the film also meant drawing on all manner of cultural references—from the depths of the Vice News YouTube channel to an early ’00s documentary about American Apparel and its despotic CEO, Dov Charney, that Ulman sent to Simon Rex.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
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In these ways, Trump’s despotic acts are indeed without precedent in American history.—
Patrick Eddington,
Oc Register,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The targets of Trump’s economic aggression will accept greater hardship to preserve their dignity than American voters will for the privilege of acting like arrogant menaces.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
29 Apr. 2025
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This feud carries on today, with Hogan having called out Hart for being too arrogant.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Wolves rose up and defeated the tyrannical FEDRA, forcing them to abandon the quarantine zone.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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That film focused on the 10th annual Hunger Games, which takes place decades before Snow becomes the tyrannical leader of Panem.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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During her last five years as Deputy Bureau Chief, Chloe has brought her sharp editorial expertise and field experience to deliver authoritative coverage, competitive scoops and breaking news.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2025
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Female-sounding voices are supposed to be calming and male-sounding voices more authoritative.—
Sarah A. Bell,
Smithsonian Magazine,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Compared with Russia’s dictatorial tsarist and communist eras and its chaotic decade after the Soviet Union fell, the country had never been so prosperous and so free at the same time.—
ALEXANDER GABUEV,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Apr. 2025
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Fortunately, the courts have so far blocked this dictatorial impulse.—
Steven Greenhut,
Orange County Register,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Autocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocratic. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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