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
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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
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
Vaccine resistance, in turn, was particularly pronounced among alternative health practitioners like Reuben Swinburne Clymer, who lamented how despotic doctors overrode the objections of ordinary citizens.
—Helen L. Murphey / Made By History, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
But Valery, despite his lack of power in a despotic system, is able to help others, and finds a way to not just survive his pain but also live with its lasting effects.
—Vanessa Armstrong, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
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
Vaccine resistance, in turn, was particularly pronounced among alternative health practitioners like Reuben Swinburne Clymer, who lamented how despotic doctors overrode the objections of ordinary citizens.
—Helen L. Murphey / Made By History, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
But Valery, despite his lack of power in a despotic system, is able to help others, and finds a way to not just survive his pain but also live with its lasting effects.
—Vanessa Armstrong, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotic
Adjective
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Businesses now live in fear of retroactive rulings, arbitrary penalties and endless audits.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
-
The risks include wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.—
Nick Butler,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Panahi’s film, his first since being released from prison in 2023, is a direct assault on Iran’s authoritarian regime.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
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But this one rush job, HB 1205, was especially dear to the governor’s authoritarian heart.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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The United States held Qaddafi’s Libya up as a success story in the global war on terror, a former rogue state that had made amends for its murderous past, relinquished its nuclear-weapons program and reoriented its oppressive state apparatus around American foreign-policy priorities.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
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Contracts of adhesion are sometimes seen as oppressive, especially in the consumer context, but courts often regard them as enforceable.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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The trial had revealed Blue Cross’ domineering behavior.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Richard was known for being outspoken, if not arrogant, consistently rubbing his Tagi tribe the wrong way and offending some of them with his blatant display of nudity on the island.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
-
Multiple people described him to me as unpopular and arrogant.—
Amanda Chicago Lewis,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The United States' chaotic autocratic lurch under President Donald Trump—in particular, its abandonment of Europe and Ukraine in favor of closer ties to Russia—has compelled European countries to get a lot more serious about their own defense.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 May 2025
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Panahi uses this set-up to explore the ripple effects of autocratic abuse on several characters who don’t know each other, but are connected by the same persecutor.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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The Wolves rose up and defeated the tyrannical FEDRA, forcing them to abandon the quarantine zone.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Hollywood is now under the dictatorial realm of the technology companies.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
21 May 2025
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Yet before the press arrived, Trump shared a different, less equivocal message with El Salvador’s dictatorial president, Nayib Bukele, who has already built sprawling maximum-security complexes in service of Trump’s scheme to deport noncitizens out of legal reach.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotic. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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