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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despotism
That’s authoritarian bluster of the sort heard in despotisms.
—
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 4 Oct. 2025
Rather than panicking over Moscow’s maneuverings or conditioning their own support on Syria’s total break with Russia, U.S. and European leaders should focus on helping Syrians recover after a decade of civil war and a half century of despotism.
—Hanna Notte, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2025
The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Can that Huntington Beach teach the rest of us a thing — or thirty — not just about how to stand up to despotism, but how to beat it back?
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotism
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 4 Oct. 2025
Rather than panicking over Moscow’s maneuverings or conditioning their own support on Syria’s total break with Russia, U.S. and European leaders should focus on helping Syrians recover after a decade of civil war and a half century of despotism.
—Hanna Notte, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2025
The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Can that Huntington Beach teach the rest of us a thing — or thirty — not just about how to stand up to despotism, but how to beat it back?
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotism
Noun
-
Bashar al-Assad, who oversaw the torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of his fellow Syrians during a quarter century in power, may have achieved something new in the annals of tyranny.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
-
People, third and fourth generation Minnesotans were talking about tyranny.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The royal government was also known as a dictatorship for banning political parties, suppressing revolts and political opposition, controlling the press and having its own secret police force called SAVAK.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Throughout, Hadi calls attention to the brutality that’s endemic in Iraqi daily life under a dictatorship.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Genocide, conspiracy, and fascism can and will happen here.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
-
That is really thuggish fascism.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Joy Neumeyer What do the far right’s fluctuating fortunes in Poland suggest about countries seeking an off-ramp from autocracy?—
Leah Downey,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2026
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Amodei’s essay covers a lot of ground, from existential threats to fighting autocracy to saving jobs.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despotism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotism. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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