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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despotic
Cortinas’ efforts for the government to reveal the truth about her son’s whereabouts sparked the Madres de Plaza de Mayo movement, where the mothers of revolutionaries protested and pressured the despotic government for information about their missing children.
—
Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
The Holocaust was planned and fomented in secrecy by a despotic regime.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
Trump brushed aside past criticism from Mamdani—including claims the administration’s deportation tactics were despotic—quipping that holding executive office forces officials to evolve.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Especially right now, when most of whatever happens next would seem to be determined by arbitrary and despotic centers of earthly power.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
The Holocaust was planned and fomented in secrecy by a despotic regime.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
Trump brushed aside past criticism from Mamdani—including claims the administration’s deportation tactics were despotic—quipping that holding executive office forces officials to evolve.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Especially right now, when most of whatever happens next would seem to be determined by arbitrary and despotic centers of earthly power.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotic
Adjective
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Drawing from the histories of women detained for their political beliefs, the work explores how care, resistance and survival persist even under the most oppressive conditions.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
1 Feb. 2026
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Director Tony Williams masterfully curates a mood of oppressive dread from the opening minutes through the bloody climax and explosive final frames, making this one of the very best Australian horror films of all time.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Rezwan Shahriar Sumit’s Master, tracing the rise of a teacher drawn into local politics in Bangladesh and moving from idealism to authoritarian impulses, won the Big Screen Competition.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
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What is unique in this moment is how aggressively one political party is leveraging this and the ends to which it is being used, which is to overthrow democracy and to install an authoritarian regime.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
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These thresholds are not arbitrary.—
Michael Gianaris,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In the movie, set in medieval England, Anne (Turner) and her domineering mother-in-law, Morwen (Gay Harden), struggle to survive on the outskirts of society.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Feb. 2026
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The part of the audience fresh to this season’s developments may recall Hearts’ brief appearance in series 2 of Succession — Roman Roy buys the club as a gift for his Scottish father, the domineering Logan, only to discover Logan supports Hibs, Hearts’ Edinburgh rivals.—
Michael Walker,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Elections become charades in a lot of autocratic countries.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
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For those unfamiliar with him, Piëch was an eccentric and autocratic engineering mastermind responsible for the original Audi Quattro and the modern VW Beetle.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In the early years of his fame as a writer, Rushdie had something of a reputation for being prickly and arrogant, but Gibney’s portrait reveals a man mellowed by time and experience.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
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Spock is this brilliant, arrogant, aloof-to-the-point-of-obnoxiousness genius.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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To be an Iranian today is to live within the memory and continuity of Persian civilization, to sustain an ethics of beauty and embody an act of resistance against an ugly and tyrannical Iran.—
Ramin Jahanbegloo,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
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The book examines the worst acts of autocrats and tyrannical leaders dating back centuries.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The judge was absolutely incredulous about the contractual argument and the independent, dictatorial authority of the president.—
Liz Crawford,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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Rubio has been carrying out dictatorial measures at home.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotic. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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