autocracy
Americannoun
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government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the government or power of an absolute monarch.
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a nation, state, or community ruled by an autocrat.
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unlimited authority, power, or influence of one person in any group.
noun
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government by an individual with unrestricted authority
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the unrestricted authority of such an individual
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a country, society, etc, ruled by an autocrat
Discover More
Iraq under Saddam Hussein is an autocracy.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of autocracy
First recorded in 1645–55; from Greek autokráteia “power over oneself, sole power,” from autokrat(ḗs) autocrat + -eia -ia
Compare meaning
How does autocracy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An autocracy is a government controlled by one person with absolute power. As unlimited power doesn't usually bring out the best in people, autocracies are often brutal regimes. The word autocracy comes from the Greek roots auto ("self") and kratos ("power"). If your boss dictates your every move and leaves you no say at all in how you do your work, then you're not in a democratic workplace, you're in an autocracy.
Vocabulary lists containing autocracy
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Do it Yourself: Words Beginning with "AUTO"
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Florida EOC Civics
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mr. Beevor disagrees, arguing that Rasputin “contributed more than any other individual to the collapse of the greatest autocracy in the world.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
He admired the spirit of liberty, for instance, yet opposed the French Revolution and supported Napoleon, believing that ensuing populist disorder would then, as it turned out, require autocracy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
“An autocracy needs to create an in-group versus an out-group,” Corrales explained.
From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2026
The Pope spoke to a crowd of thousands in St Peter's Square to warn against marginalisation of the poor and autocracy.
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
Although his reign may have begun idealistically, Cahokia quickly became an autocracy; in an Ozymandiac extension of his ego, the supreme leader set in motion the construction projects.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The Games were held in the middle of autocracies, the middle of pandemics and the middle of nowhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
Though in fairness, the app has stood firm against other censorship orders from autocracies like Myanmar and Russia, the latter of which temporarily banned the app in 2018.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2024
Our ancestors were fleeing autocracies, aristocracies and they were fleeing the unpredictability of the law that comes from an aristocracy or a dictatorship.
From Salon ● May 18, 2024
Will Tracy, the show’s creator and co-writer, said he read 20 books about autocracies, authoritarian leaders and totalitarian states to develop the six episodes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
In its first aspect it was a quarrel between various autocracies over greed for influence and territory.
From The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII) History of the European War from Official Sources by Reynolds, Francis J. (Francis Joseph)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
