as in ruler
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority
European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God
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Recent Examples of autocrat
Almost overnight, countries that had long outsourced their energy security to autocrats found their supplies cut, and their economies shaken.
—
Jennifer Granholm, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Trump’s first target was Venezuelan autocrat Maduro, a close ally of Cuba, and many Cuban Americans saw that intervention as a step toward realizing Rubio’s desire to topple the island’s communist government.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
And Barack Obama deployed the military to take out Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafi.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocrat
Jennifer Granholm, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Trump’s first target was Venezuelan autocrat Maduro, a close ally of Cuba, and many Cuban Americans saw that intervention as a step toward realizing Rubio’s desire to topple the island’s communist government.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
The lurch from declaring fears about Iran to be mere media exaggerations to invoking imminent threat, from demanding the Nobel Peace Prize to luxuriating in lethality, is the essence of the autocrat’s monopoly on unpredictability.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
And Barack Obama deployed the military to take out Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafi.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocrat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocrat
Noun
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He’s been known in the United States for centuries as the English ruler who lost the American colonies.—
Laurie Kellman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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He's been known in the United States for centuries as the English ruler who lost the American colonies.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Before Prince Philip captured Queen Elizabeth II's heart, another aristocratic suitor may have been in the running for the future monarch.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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In April, as both sides of the Atlantic watched on, the king and queen carried out their first state visit to the United States as monarchs.—
Jennifer Hassan,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autocrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocrat. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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