1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a nation ruled by a series of despotic rulers, each seemingly worse than the last
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
the despotic coach demands that his players obey him without question
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despotic
The monarchist movement has not governed Iran since 1979, and its corrupt, despotic leader was overthrown in the revolution.
—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
The book explains the world order as three despotic governments that horrifically dominate their citizens, control their respective satellite allies and are always at war.
—
Letters To The Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Feb. 2026
Healing the nation Up to 1,400 people were killed in the July 2024 revolution that toppled Hasina in addition to some 3,500 extrajudicially disappeared during the last 15 years of her despotic reign.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
13 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
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
The book explains the world order as three despotic governments that horrifically dominate their citizens, control their respective satellite allies and are always at war.
—
Letters To The Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Feb. 2026
Healing the nation Up to 1,400 people were killed in the July 2024 revolution that toppled Hasina in addition to some 3,500 extrajudicially disappeared during the last 15 years of her despotic reign.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
13 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
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotic
Adjective
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Dealing with extreme heat in India, where oppressive temperatures have become a matter of routine in recent years, revealed another disconnect.
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The Shah was so corrupt and oppressive that the 1979 revolution was almost inevitable.
Adjective
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Satrapi shows us that under authoritarian rule, exile is experienced not only in leaving home, but in the slow erosion of the self from within.
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Building the capacity of governments, especially authoritarian ones, to manage migration and contain refugees is not an inherent global good.
Adjective
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For at least a decade, federal agents followed guidelines designed to prevent arbitrary civil immigration arrests of people at courthouses.
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Some media outlets, however, reported that some of those detained were politicians or activists, leading to allegations of arbitrary detentions.
Adjective
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Musk’s company has inked lucrative AI deals with Anthropic and Google and plans to be the domineering firm behind orbital data centers, which SpaceX has said could be deployed as early as 2028.
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Many figures within evangelicalism have promoted an aggressive, domineering, even abusive view of manhood—affixing to it, as Du Mez argues, the label biblical.
Adjective
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Indeed, the King would later establish the Instrument of Foundation of the Royal Academy as a more autocratic counterpart.
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But there simply aren’t that many people who want an autocratic America.
Adjective
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The passage is incoherent, yet, in conflating progressive reform with arrogant blind faith, it is perfectly suited to Vance’s cynical conservatism.
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To no one’s surprise, Bonnie is immediately transfixed by her Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee, whose arrogant smarm effectively threads the needle between Maya Hawke’s Anxiety and Regina George’s everything else).
Adjective
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This dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of the villainous Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), who swoops in and snatches the throne.
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The bony villain is a warlock who stole the throne of Eternia from King Randor and now rules it with a tyrannical fist.
Adjective
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As pointed out by Cox, Zagallo was only brought in as manager in the March of 1970 after his predecessor, Saldanha, had fallen out with Brazil’s dictatorial president Emilio Medici.
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Yet, the courage and determination of lawyers who insist upon proper enforcement of the law, even in corrupt and dictatorial regimes, stand as their own form of powerful dissent.
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotic. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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