variants
also tyrannic
1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a tyrannical ruler whose terrible reign was marked by unceasing violence
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2
as in domineering
fond of ordering people around
even when he was still a toddler, he tended to be a tyrannical playmate
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Recent Examples of tyrannical
The result is a gripping vérité portrait of citizens under siege by a tyrannical leader stripping away their freedoms.
—
Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Shame on you, Mr. LaCava, for supporting the city’s new trash collection fee and for your tyrannical ideology surrounding this issue.
—Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Since his memorable performance on the Netflix sci-fi show, Quinn has starred alongside Lupita Nyong’o in A Quiet Place: Day One and played a tyrannical emperor in Gladiator II.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Such control isn’t intrinsically tyrannical or oppressive.
—Michael W. Clune, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2025
Shame on you, Mr. LaCava, for supporting the city’s new trash collection fee and for your tyrannical ideology surrounding this issue.
—Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Since his memorable performance on the Netflix sci-fi show, Quinn has starred alongside Lupita Nyong’o in A Quiet Place: Day One and played a tyrannical emperor in Gladiator II.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Such control isn’t intrinsically tyrannical or oppressive.
—Michael W. Clune, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannical
Adjective
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Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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This process includes questioning the logics and myths that uphold the status quo and calling out oppression as part of the struggle toward an anti-oppressive future.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Also in the cast: Emmy winner Laurie Metcalfe, as Augusta Gein, the murderer's religious, domineering mother; Tom Hollander as director Alfred Hitchcock; Olivia Williams as the filmmaker's wife, Alma Reville Hitchcock; and Lesley Manville, as Gein's second murder victim, Bernice Worden.—
Chris Foran,
jsonline.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Cappellazzo could be domineering.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Now, the same institutions once intimidated by authoritarian power have declared that a former commander-in-chief conspired to revoke the 2022 election, assassinate rivals, and eventually unleash street chaos to hold on to power.—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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Ray's father was a dissenter who was executed by the Major himself for his outspoken anti-authoritarian views, and Ray wants revenge.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Seville is known for having excellent regular-season races and running masterful rounds in major championships.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Hijabs Off is a masterful special that Johnson’s career has been building toward for years.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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On the other side of Nepal from autocratic China, India is a test case for how democracies are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to control online narratives.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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In competitive authoritarian regimes, however, there’s a constant push and pull between democratic and autocratic impulses.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This is how legal systems in despotic regimes operate.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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The Academy rules work for countries with democratic governments but not for countries with despotic regimes.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And part of that structure is ensuring that the IRS consistently enforces the code without imposing arbitrary changes on certain taxpayers.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Both sides have also carried out arbitrary detentions, with SAF interrogating and beating dozens of Christians in 2024 and 2025.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That Trump would explicitly address the dictator issue this week reflects just how head-spinningly fast his dictatorial actions have been coming at us.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
30 Aug. 2025
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La'An, meanwhile, starts to exhibit the dictatorial traits of the warmongering Romulans, who — unbeknown to most of the Federation — split off from the Vulcans to go their own way a few millennia previously.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannical. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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