AUTOCRATICAL Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

autocratic

adjective

ˌȯ-tə-ˈkra-tik

variants also autocratical

Definition of autocratic

as in authoritarian

exercising power or authority without interference by others democracy is supposed to protect the people against the rise of autocratic rulers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in domineering

fond of ordering people around an autocratic Boy Scout leader who is under the delusion that he's still an army colonel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 autocratic The student victory echoed the recent electoral defeat of a Vucic ally in Hungary, where youth participation helped oust the autocratic Viktor Orbán after 16 years and bring in a new pro-European government. — CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 Instead, the board should function as a concert of great powers, both democratic and autocratic, tasked with managing crises and overseeing and building consensus on matters of global governance. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026 Many Republican lawmakers said the president’s move would benefit an autocratic government that invaded its neighbor, Ukraine. — ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026 Political transitions are the midnight hour for all autocratic regimes. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for autocratic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocratic

Adjective

In it, an orphan inherits a magician’s book and uses it to recover the memories an authoritarian empire has buried.

— Mark Schilling, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
The letter urged Morsi to take action against allies of the country's previous authoritarian leader.

— CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of authoritarian

Adjective

Lee recognizes the potential for that in the servant and chooses not to do these things, or at least not do them in a domineering or self-serving way.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Sources said Gunning plays Annie, a quietly dutiful wife who has sacrificed her ambitions to raise four sons under her domineering husband, Duncan.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of domineering

Adjective

Returning home with the glittering medal draped on his neck, Cassius is lauded but also thrust right back into the oppressive, segregated and deeply racist Louisville.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
Where individual agency is always primary, the customer is always right and authority is generally considered oppressive.

— Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of oppressive

Adjective

Using an acronym meant for minor zoning squabbles against resistance to a massive, 80 mph express train slicing through dense residential blocks is an arrogant posture that completely obscures the true nature of this unconscionable project.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Steve Buscemi as Harry’s regular fence; Tatiana Maslany as his estranged daughter; and Will Price as the arrogant, heat-packing scion of a Manhattan crime family also star.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of arrogant

Adjective

Federal prosecutors accuse Maduro and Flores of directing a campaign of political repression involving brutal interrogations, arbitrary detentions and the mistreatment of prisoners.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
On October 9, 2026, a federal district court ruled that the policy exceeds the Justice Department's authority, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates federal law.

— Eric McDaniel, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of arbitrary

Adjective

Any transgression of new standards of speech and behavior could put someone at risk of social banishment, in the truly despotic shape of cancellation.

— Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
The comedy of errors that follows as Ina attempts to solve the nation’s problems, from traffic congestion to energy crisis, doubles as a critique of the despotic regime and the tumult of living in such hellish times.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of despotic

Adjective

In 1381, England’s working class grabbed their pitchforks and rose against tyrannical landlords, extortionate taxes, and the stranglehold of serfdom.

— Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
But the guards did not become tyrannical, as in the Stanford experiment.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of tyrannical

Adjective

Polly, who has choreographed the family’s public image with the dictatorial control of a George Balanchine, isn’t pleased to learn that her daughter has laid the fault of her brother’s tragedy on her parents’ right-wing politics.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Standing before her guards, the increasingly dictatorial ruler proclaims herself as the Chosen One to the people of King's Landing.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of dictatorial

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“Autocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocratic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of autocratic

adjective

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