as in dictators
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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Recent Examples of despots
So what if the Engineers copied their own DNA to create humanity; how would the discovery of their existence further embolden the wealthy, who already see themselves as new gods, and drive further wedges between despots like the Five?
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
That’s reminiscent of what the despots of Eastern Europe did during the Cold War, building huge concrete apartment blocks with meager square-foot allotments per family.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
That’s reminiscent of what the despots of Eastern Europe did during the Cold War, building huge concrete apartment blocks with meager square-foot allotments per family.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despots
Noun
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Some dictators go down fighting.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
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That’s what dictators want to do.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Those historians were impressed by how much personal force the old tyrants could generate.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
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The world is full of bad actors—cheats, liars, tyrants, sickos—who are, ultimately, mere human beings; at least, this was how rationality would have it.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despots. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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