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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tyranny
Government power completely divorced from political accountability is tyranny.
—
Carl Burdette, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2025
By settling with Trump, two of the firms that Trump targeted — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — have disgraced the legal community and turned their backs on their public duty to fight tyranny.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 1 Apr. 2025
The Trump deportations Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez case spotlights wrong federal priorities in deportation cases
Deportation as theater is the wrong tactic
History has shown us that when governments operate without checks and balances, tyranny follows.
—Nisha Whitehead, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
Six years ago, our advice was to rebel against the forces of technological tyranny.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Carl Burdette, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2025
By settling with Trump, two of the firms that Trump targeted — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — have disgraced the legal community and turned their backs on their public duty to fight tyranny.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 1 Apr. 2025
The Trump deportations Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez case spotlights wrong federal priorities in deportation cases
Deportation as theater is the wrong tactic
History has shown us that when governments operate without checks and balances, tyranny follows.
—Nisha Whitehead, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
Six years ago, our advice was to rebel against the forces of technological tyranny.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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The oligarchs in Hungary and Russia support the dictatorship with their monetary gains in return for being allowed to remain billionaires.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2025
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The biographical drama is inspired by the lives of Brazilian activist Eunice Paiva and her politician husband Rubens, who was murdered for his dissidence toward the military dictatorship of 1970s Brazil.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Leading scholars, including historians of fascism, keep making alarming comparisons between WW2 and the present.—
Chris Doyle,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2025
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The bottom line: The recent arrests and lack of due process in other cases have some experts worried about the nation's trend toward fascism and authoritarianism under Trump, writes Axios' Russell Contreras and Steph Solis.—
Esteban L. Hernandez,
Axios,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The necessity of power sharing also meant that Congress could provide a check against despotism even if the same party held the Presidency and a majority in both houses.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
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And there are worse messages to be putting out into the world via family films right now than celebrating the virtues of kindness and fairness over cruel despotism.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Russian and Chinese leaders have a common vision of global politics, anchored by their mutual commitment to autocracy and shared animosity toward the United States.—
MICHAEL McFAUL,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Apr. 2025
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The authors point to Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore as an early adopter of informational autocracy.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Forgotten Anne, for example, makes arguments against authoritarianism and totalitarianism.—
G Kirilloff,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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The task of our generation is to defeat the totalitarianisms of the 21st century.—
Claude Malhuret,
The Atlantic,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Public discourse must resist the seduction of emotional absolutism, demanding instead that moral arguments be grounded in fact and logic.—
Kevin Waldman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2025
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In our skies as in our social lives, incremental change, like ring rain, seems to work slowly, while acts of frightening absolutism seem to happen overnight.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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