tyranny

American  

[tir-uh-nee] / ˈtɪr ə ni /

noun

tyrannies plural

1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.

   Synonyms:

   dictatorship, absolutism, despotism

2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.

3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.

4. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.

5. undue severity or harshness.

6. a cruel or harsh act or proceeding; an arbitrary, oppressive, or tyrannical action.

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tyranny British  

/ ˈtɪrənɪ /

noun

1. 1. government by a tyrant or tyrants; despotism

   2. similarly oppressive and unjust government by more than one person

2. arbitrary, unreasonable, or despotic behaviour or use of authority

   the teacher's tyranny

3. any harsh discipline or oppression

   the tyranny of the clock

4. a political unit ruled by a tyrant

5. (esp in ancient Greece) government by a usurper

6. a tyrannical act

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tyrannousness
  noun
• tyrannous
  adjective
• tyrannously
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tyrannies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tyranny

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English tyrannie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, equivalent to Latin tyrann(us) “oppressive ruler” + -ia noun suffix; see tyrant, -y ³

Explanation

Tyranny is a noun that describes a repressive and arbitrarily cruel regime. Don't accuse your mother of tyranny just because she won't let you play video games all weekend long. One of the root words of tyranny is the Latin tyrannia which means the "rule of a tyrant" and a tyrant is a "cruel master." Today, it can mean the repressive regime of a dictator or it can also mean being controlled by something metaphorically harsh like time or work. Maybe the oldest example of a tyranny is that of Tyrannosaurus Rex, or "king of the giant lizards," who many of us grew up thinking was the largest, most predatory and frightening of the dinosaurs who supposedly ruled over the rest of the dinosaur world with its huge, sharp teeth and claws.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tyranny tyrannies

A cleaning tip to liberate your home from sticker tyranny: If you have a kiddo in your life, you know that stickers can magically appear on just about every surface within their arm’s reach.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

All call for their countrymen to fight against tyranny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

One of the benefits of labor unions is that they protect workers from this kind of tyranny of consumption.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

He said the two countries have stood together "defiant and triumphant against the forces of communism, fascism and tyranny".

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

He brooded at length over what he perceived to be his father’s moral shortcomings, the hypocrisy of his parents' lifestyle, the tyranny of their conditional love.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

But do tyrannies ever fall in a single day?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

He built the community directly from his phone and, whether intended or not, that connection has sustained his career - insulating him from the tyrannies of radio playlists and streaming placement.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2025

He told how his father, a police chief in small-town Iowa, was fired because he stood up to the local good-old-boy network, refusing, on principle, to brook their petty tyrannies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2025

Harrison connected militarism with “the tyrannies of patriarchy.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2020

Claudia answered, “Of course. Wearing shoes all the time is one of the tyrannies you’ll escape by coming with me.”

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• authoritarianism
• autocracy
• coercion
• cruelty
• despotism
• domination
• oligarchy
• oppression
• terrorism
• totalitarianism