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
Weapons manages to nod to so many things about the modern condition — school shootings, the surveillance state, the tyranny of activist PTAs — without falling on tired trauma tropes.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
If Wyatt and Surrey could pen brilliant sonnets under Tudor tyranny, then certainly great art can be produced under capitalism despite its particular degradations.
—Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026
Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.
—Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026
Ayatollah Sayyed Abdullah Behbahani and Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai used Islamic arguments to claim that even kings must be bound by law, and that tyranny was incompatible with religion.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
If Wyatt and Surrey could pen brilliant sonnets under Tudor tyranny, then certainly great art can be produced under capitalism despite its particular degradations.
—Literary Hub, 9 Mar. 2026
Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.
—Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026
Ayatollah Sayyed Abdullah Behbahani and Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai used Islamic arguments to claim that even kings must be bound by law, and that tyranny was incompatible with religion.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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The program, launched in 1975 during the country's military dictatorship, has successfully evolved in democratic times to reduce dependency on foreign oil.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Mar. 2026
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President Javier Milei’s government has called for a broader account that also includes victims of left-wing guerrilla violence, which some suggest is a way to minimize the crimes of the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hungary had a very weak civil society after 70 years of totalitarian fascism and communism.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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This form evolved in the 20th century to address Marxism, fascism and class struggle, challenging traditional narratives through activism and experimental techniques.—
Jane M. Saks,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Researchers argued that career anxiety under autocracy creates both pro-regime henchmen and anti-regime plotters.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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For example, in the 1930s, four major democracies (Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain) became autocracies.—
Ray Dalio,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jury President Wim Wenders praised the film for its portrait of life under totalitarianism saying the story would chime with and serve as a wakeup call for people all over the world.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2026
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His loathing for totalitarianism was among the very few hatreds Reagan ever held, his biographer Edmund Morris said.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In her book, Richard explains how a small group of wealthy people have led the country into authoritarianism, waging war on US ideals.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
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His themes intersect with those of Kiarostami—an anti-authoritarianism that, though no less radical, is an ironic, self-deprecating one.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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So the same establishment that had once helped push a Qajar shah toward constitutionalism helped pull a Pahlavi shah back from exile and back into absolutism.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
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Social media, ideological sorting, and the emotional intensity of war encourage absolutism.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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