1
as in arbitrary
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a nation ruled by a series of despotic rulers, each seemingly worse than the last
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
It was first created in 1942 specifically to serve as a foil to Axis disinformation and over the years became a beacon of hope to people living under all manner of totalitarian and despotic governments.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025
The notion that these companies were sovereign enclaves of pitilessly despotic geniuses is a myth of recent vintage.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
Guaranteeing the people’s right to bear arms, both through state militias and as individuals, would serve as deterrence against federal leaders with despotic aspirations.
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
Misinformation is rife in Syria, and after five decades of despotic rule, Syrians have little trust in their institutions.
—Nafees Hamid, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025
The notion that these companies were sovereign enclaves of pitilessly despotic geniuses is a myth of recent vintage.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
Guaranteeing the people’s right to bear arms, both through state militias and as individuals, would serve as deterrence against federal leaders with despotic aspirations.
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
Misinformation is rife in Syria, and after five decades of despotic rule, Syrians have little trust in their institutions.
—Nafees Hamid, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotic
Adjective
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State lawmakers can and should repeal the arbitrary two-year rule.—
Sakinah Tillman,
Baltimore Sun,
4 June 2025
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Officials have often shaken this number off as arbitrary, but agree military spending needs to surge from the 2 percent benchmark of the last decade, and quickly.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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But then again, almost everything Trump does is right out of the authoritarian playbook.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 June 2025
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Any center of liberal and free thought from pop music to Ivy League universities is vulnerable to authoritarian impulses.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.—
Carlos Cubelo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Carrie is described as a reimagining of the story of misfit high schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
2 June 2025
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Randall is a rebellious new patient at a mental institution who does battle with Louise Fletcher’s domineering head nurse Mildred Ratched.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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There is something dangerously, provocatively arrogant about his glorified gang leader looks.—
Timothy Crouse,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2025
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The exiled poet was criticized for his arrogant attempts to influence British and American foreign policy.—
Graham Robb,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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While the parade honors the Army, some Democrats have accused Trump of using the anniversary as an excuse to mark his birthday, comparing the event to the military parades of autocratic regimes such as Russia and North Korea.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
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Sadly, an administration that is willing to respond with lethal force to the concerns of its citizenry clearly displays its determination to establish an autocratic state.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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The judiciary is the last obstacle to a president with designs on tyrannical rule.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 May 2025
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Coupled with his hateful rhetoric, threats, lies, erratic policies, trampling of the Constitution and abnormal fascination with childish superlatives, tyrannical figures and Soviet-era style military parades, there’s much to be concerned about.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2025
Adjective
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But voters had a clear choice between Harris’ decency and Trump’s demagoguery, paranoia and dictatorial ideas.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
29 May 2025
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Trump’s assertion of dictatorial power — and widespread acceptance of such power across American society — fatally broke the republic’s structure.—
Joe Mathews,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotic. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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