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
According to the Indivisible site, what began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy.
—
Gina Grillo, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
Our heroes like Hughey (Jack McQuaid) are imprisoned under Homelander's (Antony Starr) tyranny, and all hope seems to be lost.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
At their best, wars can throw off the worst tyrannies and liberate the oppressed.
—Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2026
Cutié, 56, knows about the tyranny many Cubans have lived under.
—Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Gina Grillo, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
Our heroes like Hughey (Jack McQuaid) are imprisoned under Homelander's (Antony Starr) tyranny, and all hope seems to be lost.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026
At their best, wars can throw off the worst tyrannies and liberate the oppressed.
—Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2026
Cutié, 56, knows about the tyranny many Cubans have lived under.
—Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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The program, launched in 1975 during the country's military dictatorship, has successfully evolved in democratic times to reduce dependency on foreign oil.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Mar. 2026
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President Javier Milei’s government has called for a broader account that also includes victims of left-wing guerrilla violence, which some suggest is a way to minimize the crimes of the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Her works explored Oedipal urges and creeping fascism.—
Laura Regensdorf,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2026
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Hungary had a very weak civil society after 70 years of totalitarian fascism and communism.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Oil and autocracy in Venezuela The currency of exchange between America and Venezuela is oil.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
3 Apr. 2026
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But in an autocracy with a leader who is quick to promote allies and punish dissenters, officials have far more reason to implement Xi’s policy preferences than to challenge them.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Jury President Wim Wenders praised the film for its portrait of life under totalitarianism saying the story would chime with and serve as a wakeup call for people all over the world.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2026
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His loathing for totalitarianism was among the very few hatreds Reagan ever held, his biographer Edmund Morris said.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In her book, Richard explains how a small group of wealthy people have led the country into authoritarianism, waging war on US ideals.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
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His themes intersect with those of Kiarostami—an anti-authoritarianism that, though no less radical, is an ironic, self-deprecating one.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Advice or even just notions—only check email after noon; never do 10 reps of crunches—solidify into absolutism or vanish.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
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So the same establishment that had once helped push a Qajar shah toward constitutionalism helped pull a Pahlavi shah back from exile and back into absolutism.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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