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
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
There’s a very strong correlation with the rise of autocracy and human-rights abuses and bad governance and the increase in anti-American discourse.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
But experts worry this audacious undertaking risks fraying the last remaining threads of international norms, emboldening autocracies into new acts of aggression without fear of consequences.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
Education is the natural enemy of complacency and autocracy.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Richard Cherwitz, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
There’s a very strong correlation with the rise of autocracy and human-rights abuses and bad governance and the increase in anti-American discourse.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
But experts worry this audacious undertaking risks fraying the last remaining threads of international norms, emboldening autocracies into new acts of aggression without fear of consequences.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 5 Jan. 2026
Education is the natural enemy of complacency and autocracy.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
-
The Declaration of Independence was meant to signal the rejection of tyranny and the empowerment of the individual to resist undue coercion.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
-
History does not record many cases in which a power-mad leader careening toward tyranny suddenly regained his senses and became more moderate.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Edner migrated from Haiti in the late 1960s to escape the Duvalier dictatorship and build a better life for his four daughters and three sons.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The southern United States under the Jim Crow system of segregation, for example, was governed by a form of racial fascism premised not on a single powerful leader, but on decentralized groups of vigilantes and terrorists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Jan. 2026
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That is really thuggish fascism.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
-
His government was accused of authoritarianism, repression of the opposition and electoral manipulation.—
Jhasua Razo,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The danger here is not merely authoritarianism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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