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despotism

noun

ˈde-spə-ˌti-zəm How to pronounce despotism (audio)
Definition of despotismnext
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of despotism The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026 The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Nov. 2025 That’s authoritarian bluster of the sort heard in despotisms. — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 4 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 See All Example Sentences for despotism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotism
  1. tyranny
  2. dictatorship
  3. fascism
  4. autocracy
Noun
  • And Ric Salinas, who plays Chachalacani, humorously obliges, bringing his Culture Clash vaudeville skills to the role of the sentry who’s caught between the rock of Klion’s tyranny and his fellow feeling for Antíkona’s sympathetic cause.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Focus Features has the Andrew Garfield period movie The Uprising from Paul Greengrass which is based on the legend of Robin Hood in his crusade against King Richard II’s tyranny.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of tyranny
Noun
  • The United Kingdom has controlled the Falklands since 1833, and fought a brief war over the islands in the early 1980s after the Argentine military dictatorship attempted to seize the territory by force.
    — Adrienne Vogt, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Here, Americans want to live in a democracy, not a dictatorship.
    — S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of dictatorship
Noun
  • At least a million soldiers fighting in the British and French armies against fascism were Muslims.
    — Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In Conversation What Wiemar Germany’s theater can teach us about artistic expression in the shadow of rising fascism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of fascism
Noun
  • International experts have denounced President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s repression of the opposition and push to eliminate term limits as worrisome turns toward autocracy.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The Ostrich Army spoke of the impending incursion as the advent of jackboot autocracy, but plans to resist it seemed more equivocal.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of autocracy

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despotism
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Cite this Entry

“Despotism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotism. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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