as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
by the end of the 20th century many countries around the world had rejected despotism in favor of democracy
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Recent Examples of despotism
Now American culture bows down to Anna Wintour’s despotism.
—
Armond White, National Review, 9 May 2025
The necessity of power sharing also meant that Congress could provide a check against despotism even if the same party held the Presidency and a majority in both houses.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
And there are worse messages to be putting out into the world via family films right now than celebrating the virtues of kindness and fairness over cruel despotism.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
Cutting bureaucracy isn’t usually associated with despotism and power grabs.
—Garry Kasparov, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotism
Armond White, National Review, 9 May 2025
The necessity of power sharing also meant that Congress could provide a check against despotism even if the same party held the Presidency and a majority in both houses.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
And there are worse messages to be putting out into the world via family films right now than celebrating the virtues of kindness and fairness over cruel despotism.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
Cutting bureaucracy isn’t usually associated with despotism and power grabs.
—Garry Kasparov, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotism
Noun
-
The new Constitution’s supporters, known as Federalists, faced fierce opposition from Anti-Federalists who charged that a powerful national government, unrestrained by a bill of rights, would inevitably lead to tyranny.—
Donald Nieman,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Males that tried to rule by asserting their dominance through violence, tyranny and threat did not last.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If the Supreme Court officially makes the chief executive a unitary executive, the advancement of the public good may depend on little more than the whims of the president, a state of affairs normally more characteristic of dictatorship than democracy.—
Graham G. Dodds,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
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The exec emphasized his excitement about being in the country a few months after Salles’ history-making drama about Brazil’s military dictatorship, a film that also scored nominations for best picture and actress for Fernanda Torres.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Biden administration completed the reversion to a Cold War frame, declaring a global divide between democracies and autocracies, with China and Russia reprising their roles as principal foes.—
JENNIFER KAVANAGH,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Although realistic doomsday scenarios—nuclear war, global warming, autocracy—are stressful to contemplate, more fanciful apocalypses (an alien invasion, a robot uprising) can generate some enjoyable escapism.—
Adam Becker,
The Atlantic,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
No more communism, or fascism; no more theocracy, or monarchies.—
Richard Stengel,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
-
This is the thing about fascism, right?—
Helen Molesworth,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despotism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotism. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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