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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 pharaoh
An ancient gold bracelet belonging to an Egyptian pharaoh that had disappeared from a museum in Cairo was stolen and later melted down, the country's Interior Ministry said Thursday.
—
Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2025
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
They were joined by Evelyn’s older brother Jonathan, and Ardeth, a chief member of the Medjai, descendants of the royal bodyguards of several pharaohs of Egypt.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2025
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
They were joined by Evelyn’s older brother Jonathan, and Ardeth, a chief member of the Medjai, descendants of the royal bodyguards of several pharaohs of Egypt.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharaoh
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharaoh
Noun
-
He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
-
These deployments are nothing more than partisan spite from an increasingly unhinged aspiring dictator, and the Supreme Court must halt them.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Foreseeing FedSur’s fall and the region’s triumph over climate change, Jonás inspires millions of Latinos to join his reactionary revolution, while Crussí, hunted by the regime, undertakes a doomed mission to kill the religious tyrant who foresees his intent.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
-
As historian Timothy Snyder warns, tyrants will always take advantage of a national crisis to consolidate their power and remove their opponents’ civil liberties.—
Rev. Nathan Empsall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pharaoh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharaoh. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share