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

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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 Roberts’s opinion took no heed of the current President’s autocratic impulses. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule under the Assad family. — Abdulrahman Shaheen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 My answer focuses on the role of autocratic political elites – that is, the party officials, military officers and other regime insiders who control the state. — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026 His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule of the Assad family, which ended when former President Bashar Assad was ousted in an insurgent offensive in December 2024 led by al-Sharaa. — ABC News, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for autocratic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocratic

Adjective

Dejan Pavlovic, from Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Sciences, drew a comparison with an election this year in Hungary that swept from power another authoritarian, Viktor Orbán.

— Ivana Bzganovic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Meanwhile, authoritarian regimes are on the rise across the planet, including in the United States.

— Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of authoritarian

Adjective

She’s played with a darkly enigmatic, unnerving quality by James in her finest work to date — a knowing, even domineering smile often curling around her lips.

— Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Rebecca Hall, playing his elegantly domineering wife, gets even less.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of domineering

Adjective

Amid an oppressive stretch of extreme heat and Florida-esque humidity that has been punishing much of California, consider, for a moment, the Ice Age.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
The Broncos also have a truly oppressive defense, and hit hard enough to turn the Chiefs’ fragile receivers into dust.

— J.J. Bailey, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of oppressive

Adjective

Everybody on our side understands that impeachment is a critical tool in the toolbox for constitutional self-defense against a president acting like a king, an imperious, lawless, arrogant king.

— NBC news, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
Most obviously, front and center, and in endlessly intrusive close-up, there’s Pattinson — who also serves as producer — playing the arrogant, fame-addicted, megalomaniac Hansen.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of arrogant

Adjective

Vucic has pushed hard against the protesters, sparking international concern over police violence and arbitrary detentions.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Vucic has pushed hard against the protesters as the government faced international criticism over police violence and arbitrary detentions of demonstrators.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 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

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
In 2024, Margo is hired to find the book that disappeared, along with many others, through the dictatorial years.

— The Know, Denver Post, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of dictatorial

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“Autocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocratic. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of autocratic

adjective

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