as in dictator
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
like some pharaoh of a third-world country, more interested in building monuments to himself than in creating a future for his people
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pharaoh
Small wonder that although the statue is expressive of Jordan’s signature, physically sprawling move, one leg is as stiff as a pharaoh’s, his feet are weirdly flat, his jersey is pooched as if a possum were wriggling inside it.
—
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Leprosy still existed, pharaohs did not.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
For centuries, this fungus was feared as a silent killer lurking in ancient tombs, responsible for mysterious deaths and the legend of the pharaoh’s curse.
—Justin Stebbing, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Could an Egyptian pharaoh or a Chinese emperor have used a stiff drink or two to build their kingdoms?
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Leprosy still existed, pharaohs did not.
—Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
For centuries, this fungus was feared as a silent killer lurking in ancient tombs, responsible for mysterious deaths and the legend of the pharaoh’s curse.
—Justin Stebbing, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Could an Egyptian pharaoh or a Chinese emperor have used a stiff drink or two to build their kingdoms?
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharaoh
Noun
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The author understood how power works, and the lengths that people, classes, political parties and dictators would go to keep it.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
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Declaring war on our nation’s cities and using our troops as political pawns is what dictators do.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The light historical touch is no doubt necessary for a series trying to sell its viewers on a love story between a modern protagonist and a character originally based on a real-life historical tyrant.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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Reynolds is a tetchy tyrant, who, enabled by his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), has embraced a need to have things just so as a means of warding off vulnerability.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pharaoh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharaoh. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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