autocracy

noun

ȯ-ˈtä-krə-sē How to pronounce autocracy (audio)
Definition of autocracynext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of autocracy Worse, many of the 92 autocracies around the world are becoming more repressive. — José Kaire, Fortune, 19 July 2026 About half of all autocracies have experienced similar trajectories after opening their economies. — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026 In spite of their original values of humanitarianism and neutrality, these organizations have been morally debased from within, using the language of human rights and international justice yet deploying it on behalf of autocracies and against the liberal democracies that created them. — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026 The background of the pitch is repression, autocracy, and corruption. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 13 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
  1. tyranny
  2. dictatorship
  3. fascism
  4. despotism
  5. authoritarianism
Noun
  • Extremists connected these claims to older ideas about government tyranny, social control and corrupt elites.
    — Art Jipson, The Conversation, 30 July 2026
  • Indeed, by then, the hypnotic spell had been cast across all of Europe, including on those liberated from the drab tyrannies of actually existing socialism.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
Definition of tyranny
Noun
  • None of Argentina’s players had been born when the country’s military dictatorship invaded the Malvinas in 1982, holding the islands for 73 days before British forces recaptured them in a war that killed 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Because Iran is a theocratic dictatorship that routinely arrests and in some cases executes journalists, Western reporters hoping to cover the country must either work clandestinely or submit to government supervision.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026
Definition of dictatorship
Noun
  • If anything, the film is more embarrassing than incendiary, and its unexamined message — that privileged, straight people can still fall in love under fascism — is, technically, true.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Brogin, who said at the time that the law was akin to fascism, fought the city, unsuccessfully.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
Definition of fascism
Noun
  • The nation which will not adopt an equilibrium of power must adopt a despotism.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • His dream was nothing less than a new reality, a hopeful future free of despotism, ruled by equality and liberty, rather than kings and queens.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of despotism
Noun
  • Mayor Brandon Johnson said Chicago would not yield to authoritarianism and pledged to continue investing in communities that have long been overlooked.
    — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
  • That’s how the public is able to hold government accountable, and accountability is crucial to the fight for democracy and against censorship and authoritarianism.
    — Heather Hendershot, The Conversation, 31 July 2026
Definition of authoritarianism

Browse Nearby Words

autochthons
autocracy
autocrat
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Cite this Entry

“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on autocracy

Nglish: Translation of autocracy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about autocracy

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