as in dictator
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the people universally feared the tyrant, who was notorious for his frequent use of torture
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Recent Examples of tyrant
If Bonhoeffer’s example is used to justify more far-right Christian violence in America, that would be another tragedy — and a cruel irony that would stain the legacy of a man who gave up everything to confront a tyrant.
—
John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
Shauna in season three is a mask-off teen tyrant with better-than-you superiority and spiteful line readings that transform the other girls’ pity toward her for losing her best friend and her baby into legitimate fear.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Commitment to these basic facts — that Trump is a tyrant and Congress needs to act now to get him out of the White House — will be a major litmus test for any 2026 candidate.
—Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
Hope: Ultimately, the protests suggest the possibility that, eventually, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians will never again allow themselves to be ruled by revanchist tyrants of any shade.
—Bret Stephens, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrant
John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
Shauna in season three is a mask-off teen tyrant with better-than-you superiority and spiteful line readings that transform the other girls’ pity toward her for losing her best friend and her baby into legitimate fear.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Commitment to these basic facts — that Trump is a tyrant and Congress needs to act now to get him out of the White House — will be a major litmus test for any 2026 candidate.
—Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
Hope: Ultimately, the protests suggest the possibility that, eventually, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians will never again allow themselves to be ruled by revanchist tyrants of any shade.
—Bret Stephens, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrant
Noun
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Even Matyas Rakosi, Hungary's most brutal communist dictator, refused to move his office here, but Orban wants to play king, so the national gallery will eventually need to be moved out of the castle to make way for him.—
Rob Schmitz,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2025
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The drawdown also comes after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime in December.—
Ellen Mitchell,
The Hill,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tyrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrant. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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