noun
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the rule of a despot; arbitrary, absolute, or tyrannical government
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arbitrary or tyrannical authority or behaviour
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The term usually suggests unscrupulous rule, or tyranny.
Etymology
Origin of despotism
From the French word despotisme, dating back to 1720–30. See despot, -ism
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.
However, the party said it was proud that Tchiroma Bakary could find "safe sanctuary" in The Gambia, adding that it was fully aware of how "despotism operates and how dissenters are treated".
From BBC
“They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the robes of legal sanction,” FDR said when accepting the presidential nomination for the second time.
From Los Angeles Times
Can that Huntington Beach teach the rest of us a thing — or thirty — not just about how to stand up to despotism, but how to beat it back?
From Los Angeles Times
But “of all the forms democratic despotism could take,” Tocqueville continues, “the worst would be to turn over all the powers of government to the hands of an irresponsible person.”
From Salon
So they bequeathed us the separation of powers and the associated checks and balances ideally expected to counter such despotism.
From Salon
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.
