as in tyrant
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the despot exiled political dissidents to remote labor camps, where they were left to rot
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Recent Examples of despot
Beloved strongmen can slide into becoming desperate despots, a risk courted by all of Bukele’s imitators and by Bukele himself.
—
Beatriz Magaloni, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2025
Kornbluth: On depression and despots Josh Kornbluth has established himself over the years as one of the Bay Area’s best storytellers.
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2025
The dance, not seen in years, is loosely based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, about an arrogant despot undone by his demons.
—Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
To the beat of a militaristic drum, with actors depicting despots and soldiers, the band took the stage donned in black marching band uniforms evoking the album’s original concept art.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for despot
Beatriz Magaloni, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2025
Kornbluth: On depression and despots Josh Kornbluth has established himself over the years as one of the Bay Area’s best storytellers.
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2025
The dance, not seen in years, is loosely based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, about an arrogant despot undone by his demons.
—Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
To the beat of a militaristic drum, with actors depicting despots and soldiers, the band took the stage donned in black marching band uniforms evoking the album’s original concept art.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for despot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despot
Noun
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Foreseeing FedSur’s fall and the region’s triumph over climate change, Jonás inspires millions of Latinos to join his reactionary revolution, while Crussí, hunted by the regime, undertakes a doomed mission to kill the religious tyrant who foresees his intent.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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As historian Timothy Snyder warns, tyrants will always take advantage of a national crisis to consolidate their power and remove their opponents’ civil liberties.—
Rev. Nathan Empsall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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These deployments are nothing more than partisan spite from an increasingly unhinged aspiring dictator, and the Supreme Court must halt them.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despot. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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