as in dictators
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
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Recent Examples of tyrants
At the time, Athens had just emerged from a period of dictatorship and some of his students had been among the tyrants who sought to take down Athens’ democracy.
—
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
All kings and tyrants fail in the end.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Aspiring tyrants inevitably promise security and food on the table.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Those historians were impressed by how much personal force the old tyrants could generate.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
That project of getting the benefits of Western civilization without its freedom and rights, that’s one that has vexed tyrants all over the world.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.
—Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
—ABC News, 16 Nov. 2025
History’s smallest tyrants are hard to please.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
All kings and tyrants fail in the end.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Aspiring tyrants inevitably promise security and food on the table.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Those historians were impressed by how much personal force the old tyrants could generate.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
That project of getting the benefits of Western civilization without its freedom and rights, that’s one that has vexed tyrants all over the world.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.
—Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
—ABC News, 16 Nov. 2025
History’s smallest tyrants are hard to please.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrants
dictators
Noun
-
Jesse Jackson was an ambassador of hope for the oppressed, who met with kings and queens and presidents and dictators and clergy of all the great religions.—
CBS Chicago Team,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Such torrential downpours, from loyalists and dissenters alike, often follow the deaths of notorious and long-ruling dictators—Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyrants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrants. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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