despot

American  

[des-puht, -pot] / ˈdɛs pət, -pɒt /

noun

1. a king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited power; autocrat.

2. any tyrant or oppressor.

3. History/Historical. an honorary title applied to a Byzantine emperor, afterward to members of his family, and later to Byzantine vassal rulers and governors.

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despot British  

/ dɛsˈpɒtɪk, ˈdɛspɒt /

noun

1. an absolute or tyrannical ruler; autocrat or tyrant

2. any person in power who acts tyrannically

3. a title borne by numerous persons of rank in the later Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires

   the despot of Servia

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Other Word Forms

• despotic adjective
• despotically adverb

Etymology

Origin of despot

1555–65; < Greek despótēs master < *dems-pot- presumably, “master of the house,” equivalent to *dems-, akin to dómos house + pot-, base of pósis husband, spouse; hospodar, host ¹

Example Sentences

Many of the leaders we put into power became despots we tolerated until they ran their course, like Panama’s Manuel Noriega.

From Los Angeles Times

We aren’t in danger of being taken over by a despot.

From Salon

They are only a sticking point for would-be kings and despots who successfully deceive and subjugate the masses.

From Salon

“We will never let the evil will of a sad, malignant despot dictate how we treat one another,” said the Greyhound Bar & Grill in Highland Park.

From Los Angeles Times

Ben-Ghiat goes on to explain that this is often a way that despots exert power, observing:

From Salon

Related Words

• autocrat
• oppressor
• tyrant