autocracy

[ aw-tok-ruh-see ]
/ ɔˈtɒk rə si /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR autocracy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural au·toc·ra·cies.

government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the government or power of an absolute monarch.
a nation, state, or community ruled by an autocrat.
unlimited authority, power, or influence of one person in any group.

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advocate
to give up possession or occupancy of.
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Origin of autocracy

1645–55; < Greek autokráteia power over oneself, sole power, equivalent to autokrat(ḗs) autocrat + -eia -ia; see -cracy

Words nearby autocracy

autocollimation, autocollimator, autocomplete, autocorrect, autocorrelation, autocracy, autocrat, autocratic, autocrine, autocrine hypothesis, autocross
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to autocracy

tyranny, oppression, despotism, dictatorship, absolutism, monarchy, monocracy, czarism

Example sentences from the Web for autocracy

British Dictionary definitions for autocracy

autocracy
/ (ɔːˈtɒkrəsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

government by an individual with unrestricted authority
the unrestricted authority of such an individual
a country, society, etc, ruled by an autocrat
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

Cultural definitions for autocracy

autocracy
[ (aw-tok-ruh-see) ]

A system of government in which supreme political power is held by one person. (Compare constitutional monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy.)

notes for autocracy

Iraq under Saddam Hussein is an autocracy.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.