variants
also autocratical
1
as in oppressive
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
2
as in authoritarian
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
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Recent Examples of autocratic
In fact, the choice Koreans faced at the end of 1948, between a one-party communist state and an autocratic liberalism, was between two options that had very little support at the beginning of the occupation.
—
Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Petrostates—state actors dependent on fossil fuels for their sovereign wealth, who also veer towards autocratic rule to maintain tight control of their population—play an equally important role in the manufacturing and spread of antiscience propaganda.
—Michael E. Mann, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Against this backdrop, IIFMA urged the academy to reconsider its policies regarding film submissions from countries under autocratic rule, suggesting the creation of a special committee for dissident filmmakers.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
The examples of nuclear physics in Soviet Russia and Chinese research today suggest that science can succeed to a major degree in an autocratic regime, if given enough independence and allowed intellectual commerce with other nations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocratic
Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Petrostates—state actors dependent on fossil fuels for their sovereign wealth, who also veer towards autocratic rule to maintain tight control of their population—play an equally important role in the manufacturing and spread of antiscience propaganda.
—Michael E. Mann, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Against this backdrop, IIFMA urged the academy to reconsider its policies regarding film submissions from countries under autocratic rule, suggesting the creation of a special committee for dissident filmmakers.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
The examples of nuclear physics in Soviet Russia and Chinese research today suggest that science can succeed to a major degree in an autocratic regime, if given enough independence and allowed intellectual commerce with other nations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocratic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocratic
Adjective
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Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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The oppressive rule has led to nations cutting off aid, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The developments led Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s socialist and authoritarian leader, to threaten to declare a state of emergency earlier this week.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The book is a policy handbook meant to address the realities of political life following the turmoil of the French Revolution, presenting a Christian alternative to both the authoritarian secular liberalism and counterrevolutionary movements of the day.—
Indianapolis Star,
IndyStar,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There are six pairs of actors playing the two leads (along with several different Raouls and Madame Girys, the latter being our spooky, imperious tour guide through the whole shebang).—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
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Behind the imperious trio of Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Odyssey Sims, the Indiana Fever fought off the Las Vegas Aces 90-83 to force their WNBA semifinal series to a win-or-go-home Game 5 in Sin City on Tuesday night.—
Frank Nunns O'Connell 11 hr ago,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The emergency has become the rule, transforming exceptional powers into the ordinary machinery of despotic governance.—
Beatriz Magaloni,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Sep. 2025
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This is how legal systems in despotic regimes operate.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Jean stepped out as Nia approached—lean and arrogant, a cigarette pinched between her lips.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Gil, her nemesis, is hot, arrogant and unfortunately extremely kissable.—
Audrey Goldberg Ruoff,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Fox reclaims the notorious lady-in-waiting from centuries of scandal, revealing a sharp-witted, politically savvy woman caught in the tyrannical court of Henry VIII.—
Phillipa Gregory,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Once stuck in the past, Ji-yeon must use her culinary prowess to stay alive under the notoriously tyrannical rule of King Lee Heon (Hierarchy’s Lee Chae-min).—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Is the appearance of an authoritative dictionary at a precise moment in the history of a language a statement about its maturity?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The site has been weaponized to magnify climate denial and vaccine denial messaging, while drowning out actual authoritative scientific sources and voices.—
Michael E. Mann,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There is a seeming logic behind Trump’s decision to turn away from democratic states and toward dictatorial ones: a desire to establish three spheres of influence that encompass most of the world.—
Phillips P. O’Brien,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Sep. 2025
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That Trump would explicitly address the dictator issue this week reflects just how head-spinningly fast his dictatorial actions have been coming at us.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Autocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocratic. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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