as in tyrant
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the despot exiled political dissidents to remote labor camps, where they were left to rot
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despot
The piece details the rise and fall of Maduro, a violent despot who ruled with an iron fist.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
What do the scandal-scarred Minnesota governor, the anti-semitic, anti-wealth mayor of New York City and a corrupt Venezuelan despot all have in common?
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
The Dowager Duchess believed that Goethe would help her teen-age son, the Duke, mature into a benevolent despot.
—Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
But that rhetoric sounded hollow in the face of its dalliance with a drug-smuggling double-dealing despot like Noriega.
—Time, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despot
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
What do the scandal-scarred Minnesota governor, the anti-semitic, anti-wealth mayor of New York City and a corrupt Venezuelan despot all have in common?
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
The Dowager Duchess believed that Goethe would help her teen-age son, the Duke, mature into a benevolent despot.
—Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
But that rhetoric sounded hollow in the face of its dalliance with a drug-smuggling double-dealing despot like Noriega.
—Time, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despot
Noun
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When a tyrant falls, we may be tempted to imagine a final moment of tragic self-awareness—a personal reckoning, like Oedipus blinding himself, or Macbeth raging on the heath.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
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Ruling like a petty tyrant from the company’s headquarters in lower Manhattan, Coplan isn’t an easy boss to work with, according to new reporting by the Wall Street Journal.—
Joe Wilkins Published Feb 4,
Futurism,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Its focus soon shifted to ousting dictator Slobodan Milosevic, using mass demonstrations and a general strike across the provinces to make its point.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Thousands of Libyans gathered Friday to mourn Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late dictator, at his funeral in northwestern Libya.—
Yousef Murad,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despot. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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