variants
also tsarist
or tzarist
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
the trustees felt that the university needed a strong, czarist leader who could propel it to world-class status
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 czarist
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.
—
Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Since tsarist times, Russia has ensured Armenia’s loyalty by promising to defend it against the Ottoman Empire (and then against its successor, Turkey) with sustained military support.
—Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2025
Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Since tsarist times, Russia has ensured Armenia’s loyalty by promising to defend it against the Ottoman Empire (and then against its successor, Turkey) with sustained military support.
—Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for czarist
Adjective
-
Enoch confronts the celestial hosts, all wearing capes of swastika red under an oppressive horizon of jutting lightning and glaring orange mountains.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The film adapts Xianzhe Xu’s comic series and unfolds during China’s Sui Dynasty under Emperor Yang Guang’s oppressive reign.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Even the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization that monitors and honors reporters imprisoned by authoritarian government regimes overseas, felt compelled to weigh in on Lemon’s arrest.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
These changes have been caricatured as authoritarian and corrupt.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The organizations call the rules arbitrary and warn that the bans harm a civilian population desperately in need of aid.—
Samy Magdy,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
These thresholds are not arbitrary.—
Michael Gianaris,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Government institutions run by lackeys are also more easily manipulated by autocratic leaders, and no longer serve the public interest.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
-
It’s also tinged with irony since, as his homeland’s de facto opposition leader, Rahman’s speeches had been banned from local media for a decade by autocratic former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The men who rule the Islamic Republic of Iran came to power in 1979 after millions of ordinary people filled the streets to demand the end of a despotic regime.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The first Mistborn trilogy of books centered on metal-using magicians who attempt to overthrow a despotic empire.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The book examines the worst acts of autocrats and tyrannical leaders dating back centuries.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
-
As for a change in power in the upcoming midterm elections, this can only happen if they are held and not stopped by the invasion of our cities, in an obvious attempt at tyrannical control.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
These tyrannous tabbies don’t understand that canning is not exclusively for wet food.—
Julie Klausner,
Vulture,
27 Dec. 2024
-
Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.—
Tomris Laffly,
Harper's BAZAAR,
1 Feb. 2022
Adjective
-
The judge was absolutely incredulous about the contractual argument and the independent, dictatorial authority of the president.—
Liz Crawford,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Rubio has been carrying out dictatorial measures at home.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Czarist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/czarist. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
