as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of autocracy
Our depressing slide into sclerotic autocracy continues.
—
Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Elsewhere, particularly in autocracies, the data is simply too unreliable to use.
—Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Even as a large Muslim autocracy in the Middle East weathering the boom and bust of the oil market, Iran wasn’t unique.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Ditto for the autocracy and a single ruler controlling multiple institutions, often with help from foreign patrons.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Elsewhere, particularly in autocracies, the data is simply too unreliable to use.
—Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Even as a large Muslim autocracy in the Middle East weathering the boom and bust of the oil market, Iran wasn’t unique.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Ditto for the autocracy and a single ruler controlling multiple institutions, often with help from foreign patrons.
—Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
-
Ward’s comments underscore that the most incredible and enduring mythology of King Henry’s reign remains that of his putative tyranny.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The answer is not government tyranny, but the renewal of civil society.—
Carolyn McKinney,
Boston Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Co-host Ana Navarro compared the government pressure to tactics used by dictatorships to silence the press and the public.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
22 Sep. 2025
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Shaheen called this a historic opportunity for Syria after years of dictatorship under the Assad regime.—
Michele Kelemen,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Generally, Antifa describes those in opposition to fascism and far-right neo-Nazi ideologies, tracing their roots to 20th-century resistance movements in Europe.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, such a transition as implied by the current crisis necessitates and implies a coming organizational shift in society, but that could either result in a hideous fascism or in something genuinely utopian.—
Ed Simon
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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If not for our nation’s First Amendment, our country could quickly resemble a despotism where police forces attack reporters and quash news reports that diverge from the official view.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
15 July 2025
Noun
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For Moura, the echoes of Brazil’s dictatorship and the dangers of authoritarianism repeating itself, fed directly into The Secret Agent.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Sep. 2025
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Andor connected with critics and audiences in part because its revolutionaries make cogent arguments over and over about the insanity of authoritarianism.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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