as in dictatorship
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a popular uprising replaced that nation's tyranny with freedom and democracy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tyranny
In the pic, Garfield plays a legendary leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II.
—
Justin Kroll, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The square was built on the location of the 1789 uprising and where the Bastille prison, an emblem of tyranny, once stood and was dismantled.
—Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Not every encounter or exchange needs to entail a lesson in semantics, or the tyranny of cultural sensitivity, or the dominance of white males in academia and everywhere else.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
After decades of tyranny, Assad’s murderous regime fell in December 2024, turning Middle East geopolitics upside down.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Justin Kroll, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The square was built on the location of the 1789 uprising and where the Bastille prison, an emblem of tyranny, once stood and was dismantled.
—Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Not every encounter or exchange needs to entail a lesson in semantics, or the tyranny of cultural sensitivity, or the dominance of white males in academia and everywhere else.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
After decades of tyranny, Assad’s murderous regime fell in December 2024, turning Middle East geopolitics upside down.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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No, a dictatorship is not the same as democracy.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
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First, the Chavist regime of Nicolás Maduro is not operating like a real state or even a classic dictatorship.—
Kristina Foltz,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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At a time when contentious words dominate our conversations—think insurrection and fascism and fake news and woke—the need for dictionaries to chronicle and explain language, and serve as its watchdog, has never been greater.—
Stefan Fatsis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
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The game has been viewed as a tongue in cheek critique of military dictatorships, with references to fascism and colonialism.—
Dan Gooding
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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If not for our nation’s First Amendment, our country could quickly resemble a despotism where police forces attack reporters and quash news reports that diverge from the official view.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
15 July 2025
Noun
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The Kremlin wants to turn Ukraine into another Georgia, where pro-Russian political actors have largely captured the state and are pushing the country toward autocracy.—
DARIA KALENIUK,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Sep. 2025
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Assayas addressed the timeliness of the Putin story in a world where autocracy seems to be relentlessly on the rise.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Eclectic traditionalism, remade on an elephantine scale, is the style of totalitarianism.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
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Brzezinski would dedicate his academic and professional life to studying and undermining the forces of totalitarianism and authoritarianism that had overtaken his homeland during his childhood.—
Niall Ferguson,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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And when liberalism seems weak and people are impatient for change, authoritarianism or anarchism can seem suitable alternatives to many.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Sep. 2025
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Key components of authoritarianism include rejecting democratic rules; denying the legitimacy of opponents; tolerating or encouraging political violence; and curtailing the civil liberties of opponents.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The idea that executive absolutism can be stopped by a single district judge is a romantic but inaccurate one.—
George Liebmann,
Baltimore Sun,
2 July 2025
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Its champions gradually came to reinterpret the end of licensing as a natural consequence of the Revolution of 1688—part of the progression from tyrannical absolutism to parliamentary monarchy.—
Fara Dabhoiwala,
Harpers Magazine,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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