despotic

Also des·pot·i·cal

[dih-spot-ik]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a despot or despotism; autocratic; tyrannical.

Other Word Forms

• despotically adverb
• nondespotic adjective
• nondespotically adverb
• undespotic adjective
• undespotically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of despotic¹

1640–50; < French despotique < Greek despotikós. See despot, -ic

Example Sentences

Far from being despotic, Louis sought to be a constitutional monarch, with representative institutions that could mobilize consent and resources behind state policy.

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She has clearly shown courage and resolve in resisting President Nicolás Maduro’s increasingly corrupt and despotic regime, which has finally lost its last vestiges of international left-wing legitimacy.

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His despotic dismissals of the rule of law, in ways both large and small, are creating what many in the GOP have long fantasized: An imperial presidency.

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"There is a path leading to a democratic transition from this semi-authoritarian, semi-constitutional system," he argues, "and there is a despotic path leading to a dictatorship."

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Chimpanzees comfort each other when in distress, despite typically being referred to as "violent" and "despotic" when compared to other apes.

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