despotism
- noun
- /ˈdɛspəˌtɪzəm/
- Formal
- So despotism becomes totalitarianism and so on.
- absolute despotism
- soft despotism
- oriental despotism
The state is also not a monarchy or enlightened despotism.
- The state is also not a monarchy or enlightened despotism.
- And this is the strongest ally of Europe in this battle against tyranny, against despotism.
- That's the that's the despotism of this of, of, of mistaking the intrinsic good for the instrumentality.
- The effect of the ultra liberalism of our Yankee Co operators on the ultra despotism of our allies gives me just the balance I wanted.
Examples
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Against absolute despotism, the only adequate response seemed to be absolute liberty.
Academic text (1993) -
A despotism so strong, so powerful... that it paralyzes the human soul with terror.
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Or does it result in a new kind of despotism, the despotism of law, the despotism of obedience to the general will?
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How to defend the rights of minorities against the despotism of the majority.
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The Southern States have been despotisms, not governments of the people.
Academic text (2017) -
For Caesar, "The decisive choice between freedom and despotism is largely determined by the doctrines and ideas that guide people's thought."
Academic text (2000) -
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."
Blog text (9) -
The institutional changes outlined in the article resembled the transition from unenlightened despotism to a constitutional monarchy.
Academic text (1991) -
''But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security.''
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Under the brutal regime, the citizens lived in fear of the despotism that ruled their lives with an iron fist.
Synonyms
A government where one person or a small group has all power and does not allow political opposition
One person or a small group rules a country cruelly
A country where the government uses strict police control and spying to limit people's freedoms
A government that controls nearly all parts of people's lives and takes away personal freedom
A system where one person or small group has almost all political power
A government that controls almost all parts of people's lives by force
A government where one leader or a small group holds power and limits people's freedoms
A government that controls almost every part of people's lives and punishes people who disagree
A government in which one person has all power
A system where one ruler has complete power
A government where one person has all power and others cannot oppose them
A government where one person has all power over the country and no limits
A form of government where one person has almost all power and few or no limits on their rule
Antonyms
How Tyrannical
- Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Despotism comes from the Greek word despotes meaning 'master' or 'lord', originally the 'master of the house', and the same root is in the word despot. So despotism is rule by one 'master' who has total power and often rules unfairly or cruelly.