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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Related Stories Farrelly thinks that kind of oppressive political correctness is fading and that audiences are eager to see movies that eviscerate good taste in order to land a joke again.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
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Pitted against the unforgettably evil Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a sadist who drugs and abuses the unlucky patients in her care, McMurphy’s stand against the oppressive powers that be is tragic and poignant and spoke to the spirit of a time in which so many felt misunderstood.—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 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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Tanks rumbled through Tiananmen Square, a location that offered a stark reminder of how authoritarian states can violently crush democratic movements.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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On Thursday morning, opposition party Vente Venezuela denounced the detention of Julio Velazco, a local activist involved with the campaign of Maria Corina Machado, the main opposition leader who is still in hiding after the authoritarian push that followed the election.—
Andrew Raine,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Red Bull secured its first win under the new leadership of Laurent Mekies at the Italian Grand Prix, thanks to a masterful drive from Max Verstappen.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Understated early works such as One Man Up and the masterful Consequences of Love focus on people struggling with static lives and longing to be elsewhere.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The great power contest today seems to be between who will lead an increasingly autocratic world, and China is moving into the lead.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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London — The United States is sliding into 1930s-style autocratic politics, billionaire Ray Dalio has warned.—
Olesya Dmitracova,
CNN Money,
2 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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If senior figures display rudeness or disrespect, employees may assume that such behavior is acceptable, making selective enforcement seem arbitrary and undermining of trust.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Moreover, Burroughs further held that the administration’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).—
Noah Feldman,
Twin Cities,
7 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 10 Sep. 2025.
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