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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tyrannical
However, as Dunson’s leadership grows increasingly tyrannical, Matt is forced to challenge him, leading to an intense power struggle on the open frontier.
—
Travis Bean, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
And what can today’s resistance movements facing tyrannical regimes learn from their success?
—John Blake, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2025
Howard plays himself as a tyrannical auteur who petulantly refuses to cut a vacuous scene from his overlong thriller, warding off pleas only to change his mind at the moment of truth.
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
Leaders who take this approach have a tyrannical, dictatorial style.
—Kevin Kruse, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
Travis Bean, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
And what can today’s resistance movements facing tyrannical regimes learn from their success?
—John Blake, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2025
Howard plays himself as a tyrannical auteur who petulantly refuses to cut a vacuous scene from his overlong thriller, warding off pleas only to change his mind at the moment of truth.
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
Leaders who take this approach have a tyrannical, dictatorial style.
—Kevin Kruse, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannical
Adjective
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More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.—
Carlos Cubelo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Randall is a rebellious new patient at a mental institution who does battle with Louise Fletcher’s domineering head nurse Mildred Ratched.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
20 May 2025
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The trial had revealed Blue Cross’ domineering behavior.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But then again, almost everything Trump does is right out of the authoritarian playbook.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 June 2025
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Any center of liberal and free thought from pop music to Ivy League universities is vulnerable to authoritarian impulses.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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Colin is a masterful, soulful actor, and also an A+ human.—
Lauren LeFranc,
IndieWire,
3 June 2025
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Senior right-hander Wyatt Rudden was masterful, while the Raiders’ pitching staff — which had ace Hudson Alpert injured and used its two other top arms on Friday to advance — couldn’t hold down the Bruins’ potent lineup.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
31 May 2025
Adjective
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The United States' chaotic autocratic lurch under President Donald Trump—in particular, its abandonment of Europe and Ukraine in favor of closer ties to Russia—has compelled European countries to get a lot more serious about their own defense.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 May 2025
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Panahi uses this set-up to explore the ripple effects of autocratic abuse on several characters who don’t know each other, but are connected by the same persecutor.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Bernal as a despotic and at times deluded Magellan persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold 16th century expedition to the fabled lands of the East, only to unleash a decade of devastation wreaked by European conquistadors in the Pacific as part of colonial conquests.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2025
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The Framers understood the danger of a despotic regime and regarded the criminal jury trial as a key procedural safeguard to help ensure that only those acts and individuals society deemed truly culpable result in criminal punishment.—
Mike Fox,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Businesses now live in fear of retroactive rulings, arbitrary penalties and endless audits.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
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The risks include wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.—
Nick Butler,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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But voters had a clear choice between Harris’ decency and Trump’s demagoguery, paranoia and dictatorial ideas.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
29 May 2025
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Trump’s assertion of dictatorial power — and widespread acceptance of such power across American society — fatally broke the republic’s structure.—
Joe Mathews,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannical. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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