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Another word for despotism

a-z
Noun

  1. A government in which a single leader or party exercises absolute control over all citizens and every aspect of their lives

    See also:

    politics

    over

  2. A political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule

    See also:

    politics

    over

  3. Absolute power, especially when exercised unjustly or cruelly

    See also:

    politics

    over

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for despotism

Noun

  1. Autocracy

    See also:

    government

    autocracy

  2. Tyranny

    See also:

    tyranny

    oppression

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • But this despotism was of a mild type.

  • At the same time his paternal despotism tended to emasculate the Tuscan character.

  • The appeal to Rome was a natural course to be advocated by Wolsey, whose despotism over the English church depended upon an authority derived from Rome; but it was probably a mistake.

  • The government was a despotism, but a king who aroused the extreme dissatisfaction of his subjects was liable to be murdered.

  • If ever there was a beneficent despotism, it was Jowett's rule as master.

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Words that mention despotism in the Dictionary

Words near despotism in the Thesaurus