as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
having just thrown off the yoke of Great Britain, the American Founding Fathers were adamantly opposed to establishing some form of homegrown autarchy
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Recent Examples of autarchy
But that’s the point: These people don’t live in an autarchy.
—
David Marchesephotograph By Christopher Anderson/magnum, For The New York Times, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2022
But Russia’s economy is far too small to be an autarchy.
—Robert Zubrin, National Review, 10 May 2021
David Marchesephotograph By Christopher Anderson/magnum, For The New York Times, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2022
But Russia’s economy is far too small to be an autarchy.
—Robert Zubrin, National Review, 10 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autarchy
Noun
-
Here in Southern California, many of our neighbors are people who had to flee socialist tyranny.—
Sal Rodriguez,
Oc Register,
7 Nov. 2025
-
For them, socialism has meant only a hankering for state tyranny and brazen assaults on property rights that, together, threaten the beliefs every patriotic citizen holds dear.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The forest for the trees Nestled between China, India and Thailand, Myanmar gained independence from Britain in 1948 but came under military dictatorship in 1962.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Both lived under dictatorships.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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No World Cup has been less about the self-aggrandizement of the hosts and yet no World Cup has ever been so overtly political as the 1938 tournament, as exiles from Germany and Italy took the opportunity to make very public their opposition to fascism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Swept up in the cinema-making of Italy’s auteurs, Nicholas finds himself on the sets of Fellini’s Casanova and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, a harrowing film about the death throes and reincarnations of fascism made just before the director’s murder.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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China must learn to respect the will of the people—starting with Chinese people's will to be free from autocracy.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Motherland combines history with family memoir, offering a fresh female view of Russia’s path to neo-Soviet autocracy under Putin.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
1 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The war from within The chronology of the last few months shows a troubling acceleration of aspirational authoritarianism.—
Mercury News & East Bay Times editorial,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
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The messy, vibrant democracy of my youth is a distant memory, snuffed out by a quarter century of ever harsher authoritarianism.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Autarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autarchy. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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