adjective
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of or relating to an absolute and unrestricted ruler
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domineering or dictatorial
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of autocratic
Explanation
Autocratic describes a way of ruling, but not in a nice way. An autocratic leader is one who rules with an iron fist; in other words — someone with the behavior of a dictator. Autocratic rulers don't tend to be popular. They use fear and control to gain total power over their people. Often, their country is left destitute as a result of their actions. The word autocratic is often used to describe the head of a country, but really, anyone who is a despotic leader can qualify — including the boss who threatens to fire you if you refuse to polish his shoes and work every holiday.
Vocabulary lists containing autocratic
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Do it Yourself: Words Beginning with "AUTO"
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Murder on the Orient Express
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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.
But it’s their journey and all the bizarre autocratic municipal rules they have to dance around that make “One Night Only” a clever, peculiar and head-scratching standout from the rom-com crowd.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
This time, he’s rewriting the entire script, to be staged on a set decked out in the definitive material of autocratic decadence: gold.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
The daughter of autocratic former leader Alberto Fujimori, she enjoys high levels of name recognition among voters.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
In 1979 Americans immediately felt the malign effects of that year’s Islamic revolution, which replaced the autocratic but modernizing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
A kind and generous man, Lewis Krakauer loved his five children deeply, in the autocratic way of fathers, but his worldview was colored by a relentlessly competitive nature.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
