1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
studied the tyrannous rule of Stalin, communist dictator of the Soviet Union
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
my older sister is a tyrannous bore who isn't happy unless she's in charge
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of tyrannous
These tyrannous tabbies don’t understand that canning is not exclusively for wet food.
—
Julie Klausner, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.
—Tomris Laffly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Feb. 2022
The same study posited that Fela was not the only popular musician who confronted the military and tyrannous leaders of Nigeria between independence in 1960 and Fela’s passing in 1997.
—Garhe Osiebe, Quartz Africa, 21 Feb. 2021
The patriarchs of their respective homes, Polonius (Peter Friedman) and Claudius (Ritchie Coster) enthrone themselves on the toilet, oblivious of the tumult their tyrannous treachery has wreaked. Syringes creepily replace swords.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 19 Aug. 2017
Julie Klausner, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.
—Tomris Laffly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Feb. 2022
The same study posited that Fela was not the only popular musician who confronted the military and tyrannous leaders of Nigeria between independence in 1960 and Fela’s passing in 1997.
—Garhe Osiebe, Quartz Africa, 21 Feb. 2021
The patriarchs of their respective homes, Polonius (Peter Friedman) and Claudius (Ritchie Coster) enthrone themselves on the toilet, oblivious of the tumult their tyrannous treachery has wreaked. Syringes creepily replace swords.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 19 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannous
Adjective
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Beyond its pleasures as a noir, the chronicle of Kolechko’s fight against nascent Soviet power easily reminds one of present-day Ukraine’s struggle to preserve its dignity in the face of oppressive forces.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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But the sweltering, sticky, oppressive facepalm of summer doesn’t make the other seasons more palatable.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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Ben-Gvir, in addition to being an authoritarian racist, is a bona fide criminal.—
Avi Issacharoff,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2026
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Fernandez didn’t mince words in his statement and accused Lago, Anderson and Lara of using authoritarian tactics to silence and hurt those who go against them.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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In Louisiana, Democrats raised concerns about mandatory jail time for disrupting services and warned that the laws were too arbitrary, suggesting that they could be applied against a congregant for singing out of turn as a pastor delivers a homily.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
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The act of administering sports competition involves enforcing a collection of arbitrary lines; the act of watching sports involves seeing what athletes can do within those lines.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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Among those acolytes is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a reedy, repressed young virgin who yearns to be part of the gay community but hasn’t the courage to come out to his domineering mother Christine (Elisabeth Wiener), who also just happens to be the country’s very right-wing health minister.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
23 May 2026
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Down at the bottom of the hierarchy, or really not ranked at all, is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a fey and cosseted twink of privilege who longs to meet Jim but is kept at home, safely away from anything gay, by his domineering mother.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Adjective
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Advertisement The tax sparked fierce resistance, especially among western Pennsylvania farmers, who saw it as a sign of the federal government's tyrannical bent, and organized protests that escalated into the tarring and feathering of tax collectors.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 May 2026
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Joaquin Phoenix's villainous performance as the tyrannical emperor Commodus earned him an Academy Award nomination.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Adjective
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Public policy decisions always need to strive for middle ground, and those leadership decisions often referred to as arrogant can just as easily be called principled leadership.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
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Some readers will probably hear a billionaire crediting luck and dismiss it as false modesty, the kind of thing people say to avoid sounding arrogant.—
Brandon Kochkodin,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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The Academy rules work for countries with democratic governments but not for countries with despotic regimes.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
4 May 2026
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Hard to Be a God is about a planet that has not been allowed to advance beyond the Middle Ages, and descended into a filthy, despotic, and violent world.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Magyar, whose center-right Tisza party defeated far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his nationalist-populist Fidesz in an earthquake election last month, has vowed to dismantle the political and economic system his autocratic predecessor spent 16 years building.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
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After two tournaments in autocratic countries (Russia and Qatar), where FIFA could order up stadiums à la carte, the coming 2026 iteration has required the messy work of dealmaking in democratic societies.—
Henry Grabar,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannous. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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