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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Recent Examples of tyranny
For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy).
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
While the 1930s and 1940s did see some instances of carnival poking fun at the tyranny of the Nazi regime (none of which, it should be noted, went unpunished), Birdsall and other scholars maintain that the festival was, first and foremost, an avenue for propaganda.
—Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2026
According to the Indivisible site, what began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy.
—Gina Grillo, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
Our heroes like Hughey (Jack McQuaid) are imprisoned under Homelander's (Antony Starr) tyranny, and all hope seems to be lost.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
While the 1930s and 1940s did see some instances of carnival poking fun at the tyranny of the Nazi regime (none of which, it should be noted, went unpunished), Birdsall and other scholars maintain that the festival was, first and foremost, an avenue for propaganda.
—Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2026
According to the Indivisible site, what began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy.
—Gina Grillo, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
Our heroes like Hughey (Jack McQuaid) are imprisoned under Homelander's (Antony Starr) tyranny, and all hope seems to be lost.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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The banner, more reminiscent of the way leaders are plastered on government buildings in a dictatorship like North Korea, is just the type of gesture the president expects.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Fifty years ago, just after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, about 90% of residents were Catholic.—
Alexis Marshall,
NPR,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Post-fascism doesn’t involve paramilitaries or do away with elections outright.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Eventually, that nativist turn would take America into a series of constitutional crises and to the edge of some American version of fascism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Since 2021, the state has been grappling with slowing economic output, weaning itself off a property market bubble, and trying to find a balance between promoting a free market and stock exchange within a one-party autocracy.—
Joseph Wilkins,Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Oil and autocracy in Venezuela The currency of exchange between America and Venezuela is oil.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Even under competitive authoritarianism, politics is still politics.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Orbán had rigged Hungary’s electoral system, media and courts to maintain power, yet voters still removed him—a result Democrats cite as proof authoritarianism can be defeated.—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Iran’s ruling system is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical — a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectation and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
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Advice or even just notions—only check email after noon; never do 10 reps of crunches—solidify into absolutism or vanish.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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