tyrannous
1
9.9
- adjective
- /tɪˈrænəs/
- Formal
:
tiránico
- The dictator ruled with a tyrannous hand, suppressing any dissent among the citizens.
Examples
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Many feared the tyrannous laws imposed by the new government would limit their freedoms.
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The representative is thus not merely responsible to a majority, for that majority may be tyrannous.
Academic text (1993) -
Alas that love, so gentle in his view... ...should be so tyrannous and rough in proof.
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He's all too real... coldhearted, tyrannous, and cruel, and now you've released him.
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Nor is the representative simply responsible to an inward sense of right, for that may be tyrannous too, since its demands have a way of being non-negotiable.
Academic text (1993) -
The founders tried to navigate between conflicting requirements: they strove for efficiency while trying to avoid the logical form of efficient government—a tyrannous executive.
Academic text (1991) -
It is not long since culture, rights, and human dignity were the monopoly of a few thousand among all the inhabitants of Europe, while the great masses of people lived dreary lives under tyrannous oppression, possessing neither rights nor education, their whole existence being one long misery.
Academic text (1999) -
And yet we cannot allow the two decades of disappointment that followed to overshadow this one central fact: Christmas Day 1991 was the culminating moment of triumph over a murderous, tyrannous evil that reigned without precedent for more than seven decades, whose leaders killed tens of millions, and whose doctrine enslaved hundreds of millions.
Academic text (2011) -
The tyrannous regime showed no mercy to those who questioned its authority.
Synonyms
47
8.9
Relating to a government that controls all parts of public and private life
43
6.3
Using harsh, unfair power to control people and limit their freedom
28
8.9
Very harsh actions or rules that cause great difficulty
25
7.9
Using power to treat people cruelly and unfairly
16
7.7
Having complete control and expecting people to obey without question
14
8.0
A leader who has complete power and does not allow others to disagree
8
8.4
A ruler who uses cruel and total power over people
Having very strong, unfair power that controls or hurts people
A leader who has harsh, total power and treats people unfairly
Antonyms
How Tyrannical
- Formal
47
8.9
8
8.4
16
7.7
- Formal
1
9.9
43
6.3
120
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tyrannous comes from the Greek word tyrannos, which means 'absolute ruler', and it shares the same root as tyrant. Think of a ruler who uses power in a cruel and unfair way, and that is why tyrannous means harsh, oppressive rule.