tyranny
[tir-uh-nee]
- arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
- the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
- a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
- oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.
- undue severity or harshness.
- a cruel or harsh act or proceeding; an arbitrary, oppressive, or tyrannical action.
Origin of tyranny
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tyranny
Contemporary Examples
Applying the apartheid label is incorrect—and is also confusing because it obscures the tyranny which is in force.
The Bill of Rights, and especially the First Amendment, were intended to protect the powerless from the tyranny of the powerful.
It also called for the establishment of laws and institutions that might protect minorities against the tyranny of the majority.
“Either you stand with freedom, or you side with tyranny,” Miller wrote on his Facebook page in March.
His social snapshots reveal the unhappy repercussions of tyranny and poverty in a picturesque Africa.
Saatchi Resurrects Ancient Pangaea with Show Featuring South American and African ArtistsChloë Ashby
April 4, 2014
Historical Examples
But there is really no need to choose between anarchy and tyranny.
A Treatise on Parents and ChildrenGeorge Bernard Shaw
I want to liberate Englishmen so far as I can from the tyranny of Shakespeare's greatness.
The Man ShakespeareFrank Harris
Who drove us into the arms of Athens, when we were hard pressed by the tyranny of Thebes?
Stories from ThucydidesH. L. Havell
That cause, he said, was the liberation of Greece from the tyranny of Athens.
Stories from ThucydidesH. L. Havell
A bondman's change from the tyranny of another to the despotism of himself.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
tyranny
- government by a tyrant or tyrants; despotism
- similarly oppressive and unjust government by more than one person
- arbitrary, unreasonable, or despotic behaviour or use of authoritythe teacher's tyranny
- any harsh discipline or oppressionthe tyranny of the clock
- a political unit ruled by a tyrant
- (esp in ancient Greece) government by a usurper
- a tyrannical act
Word Origin
C14: from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, from Latin tyrannus tyrant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for tyranny
n.
late 14c., "cruel or unjust use of power," from Old French tyrannie (13c.), from Late Latin tyrannia "tyranny," from Greek tyrannia "rule of a tyrant," from tyrannos "master" (see tyrant).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper