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
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Iraq under Saddam Hussein is an autocracy.
Etymology
Origin of autocracy
First recorded in 1645–55; from Greek autokráteia “power over oneself, sole power,” from autokrat(ḗs) autocrat + -eia -ia
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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.
For the Athenians, demokratia, literally “people power,” meant endlessly striving to find ways of harnessing the tendency of leaders toward autocracy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
The Gbagbos protested against Houphouët-Boigny's autocracy, which lasted for 33 years, calling for multi-party democracy.
From BBC • Sep. 12, 2025
Now the formally restless Susan Choi turns to social realism in her beguiling if baggy “Flashlight,“ mapping a family’s journey among political autocracy and personal pain, from Midwestern cornfields to the Pacific Rim.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2025
Other people in other countries and societies and places have endured and triumphed over autocracy and authoritarianism.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 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
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.
