1
as in arbitrary
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a nation ruled by a series of despotic rulers, each seemingly worse than the last
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2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
the despotic coach demands that his players obey him without question
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Recent Examples of despotic
Vaccine resistance, in turn, was particularly pronounced among alternative health practitioners like Reuben Swinburne Clymer, who lamented how despotic doctors overrode the objections of ordinary citizens.
—
Helen L. Murphey / Made By History, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
But Valery, despite his lack of power in a despotic system, is able to help others, and finds a way to not just survive his pain but also live with its lasting effects.
—Vanessa Armstrong, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Hip-hop regenerates constantly, and yet there has been an almost despotic grip on the throne(s) for some time.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
What China needed was something like a final emperor, the breaker of the despotic chain who would summon modernity by fiat.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Helen L. Murphey / Made By History, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
But Valery, despite his lack of power in a despotic system, is able to help others, and finds a way to not just survive his pain but also live with its lasting effects.
—Vanessa Armstrong, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Hip-hop regenerates constantly, and yet there has been an almost despotic grip on the throne(s) for some time.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
What China needed was something like a final emperor, the breaker of the despotic chain who would summon modernity by fiat.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despotic
Adjective
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Too many leaders seek to lead down by being authoritative, by pushing dictates on people and relentlessly driving forward toward arbitrary goals and deadlines.—
Andrew Deutscher,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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The responses, submitted by a fairly arbitrary group of women, range from profound to half-hearted.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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His parents were Italian immigrants who fled Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, and his grandmother Rosa Margherita Vassallo di Bergoglio was active in Catholic Action, formed by Italian bishops who wanted to maintain their independence from Mussolini’s authoritarian rule.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been called an authoritarian, and previous reports have noted restrictions to civil liberties.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Collector is also hoping these will satiate the growing wants of his oppressive overlord, The Forger (Roddy Ricch), who has mysterious motives of his own.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2025
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The current war in Sudan involves civil strife and shifting allegiances, in which one oppressive regime was toppled by a coalition, which then turned in on itself, leading to an even more vicious war.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Carrie is described as a reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
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Perhaps most frustrating to Mainers: the domineering influence of Boston in the state’s government.—
Made by History,
Time,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Ava Daniels is a young comedy writer who is unable to find work due to an insensitive tweet and her reputation for being self-centered and arrogant.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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And the villains, of course, exuding every nastily relatable emotion; the stepmothers and sorceresses are vain, arrogant, dismissive, lonely, rude, and outrageous.—
Darren Franich,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Very Territorial Caterpillar Mr. Trump’s autocratic tendencies and disregard for constitutional norms are well documented.—
Peter Baker,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
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The Democrats lost an election to someone with autocratic tendencies who has expressed endless racist, bigoted, and misogynistic beliefs.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And what can today’s resistance movements facing tyrannical regimes learn from their success?—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
20 Apr. 2025
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Howard plays himself as a tyrannical auteur who petulantly refuses to cut a vacuous scene from his overlong thriller, warding off pleas only to change his mind at the moment of truth.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele may have found the best description for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s new approach to dictatorial regimes: a laughing emoji.—
Mary Ellen Klas,
Mercury News,
12 Apr. 2025
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In late March, Ahmad al-Shara, Syria’s new leader, introduced a caretaker government that would supervise the country’s transition from five decades of dictatorial rule.—
Jerome Drevon,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despotic. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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