Synonyms of tyrant

tyrant

noun

ˈtī-rənt 

as in dictator

a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way

the people universally feared the tyrant, who was notorious for his frequent use of torture

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dictator
• despot
• ruler
• pharaoh
• warlord
• oppressor
• strongman
• overlord
• man on horseback
• caesar
• führer
• tycoon
• king
• prince
• leader
• autocrat
• authoritarian
• monarch
• magnate
• tyrannizer
• totalitarian
• potentate
• baron
• boss
• dominator
• caudillo
• sovereign
• master
• queen
• czar
• chief
• lord
• paramount
• autarch
• taskmaster
• Big Brother
• martinet
• captain
• mogul
• monocrat
• kingpin
• disciplinarian
• enforcer
• discipliner

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tyrant

Aegon, dragged out of King’s Landing by spymaster Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) in an effort to save him from the fratricidal Aemond, gets an up-close look at the petty tyrants who have sprouted up in the countryside thanks to his impetuous rule. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 18 June 2026

Examples range from businesses like Enron, Tyco, and Bernie Madoff, along with historical tyrants like Stalin or Hitler to modern figures like Putin, and industries like tobacco that knowingly harm users for profit. — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

The American origin story is rooted in the notion that George III was its vanquished villain, an irrational tyrant who oppressed the American colonists. — ABC News, 3 June 2026

If anything, the story during the semiquincentennial casts George as more of a whole person than the tyrant depicted in the ad hominem complaints peppered throughout the Declaration of Independence. — Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026