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
Democracies, Amodei wrote, must move fast to outpace autocracies yet carefully to avoid catastrophe; China chip export controls, research into safe AI, and regulations on AI transparency will be vital.
—
semafor.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Those educated in the rise and fall of nations understand that the path is short from reactive government intervention to institutional oppressive autocracy.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2026
The United States had never had the kind of all-encompassing domestic-security apparatus common in autocracies, whose interior departments function as political police.
—Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
The time has come to stop this slippery slope to autocracy, restoring our democracy and reaffirming the core values upon which our country was built and persevered.
—Richard Cherwitz, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
semafor.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Those educated in the rise and fall of nations understand that the path is short from reactive government intervention to institutional oppressive autocracy.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2026
The United States had never had the kind of all-encompassing domestic-security apparatus common in autocracies, whose interior departments function as political police.
—Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
The time has come to stop this slippery slope to autocracy, restoring our democracy and reaffirming the core values upon which our country was built and persevered.
—Richard Cherwitz, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
-
The last was King Charles I, who was tried and executed in 1649 for high treason and tyranny.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Majority rule unconstrained by the rights of individuals is majority tyranny.—
Ben Bayer,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And perhaps most important, by empowering Congress, not the president, to remedy deficient state electoral schemes, the Constitution prevents presidents from rewriting the election code by executive fiat and thus provides an additional safeguard against military dictatorship.—
Jeffrey Rosen,
The Atlantic,
16 Feb. 2026
-
In this country, unlike in dictatorships, people expect to be able to identify law enforcement officers by sight and by badge number.—
William Robiner,
Twin Cities,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Watching the tentacles of fascism spread like wildfire is hard.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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But democratic fascism is no contradiction.—
Ben Bayer,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Negotiations divorced from accountability risk entrenching authoritarianism and teaching regimes that bloodshed is merely a prelude to diplomatic rehabilitation.—
Pegah Banihashemi,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa has found success in both scripted and documentary films, many of which explore the legacy of authoritarianism in Europe and its parallels with the present.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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