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tyrannical

[ti-ran-i-kuhl, tahy-]
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adjective
  1. of or characteristic of a tyrant.
  2. unjustly cruel, harsh, or severe; arbitrary or oppressive; despotic: a tyrannical ruler.
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Sometimes ty·ran·nic.

Origin of tyrannical

1530–40; < Latin tyrannic(us) (< Greek tyrannikós, equivalent to týrann(os) tyrant + -ikos -ic) + -al1
Related formsty·ran·ni·cal·ly, adverbty·ran·ni·cal·ness, nounnon·ty·ran·nic, adjectivenon·ty·ran·ni·cal, adjectivenon·ty·ran·ni·cal·ly, adverbnon·ty·ran·ni·cal·ness, nounpre·ty·ran·ni·cal, adjectivequa·si-ty·ran·ni·cal, adjectivequa·si-ty·ran·ni·cal·ly, adverbun·ty·ran·nic, adjectiveun·ty·ran·ni·cal, adjectiveun·ty·ran·ni·cal·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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2. dictatorial; imperious, domineering.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

absoluteauthoritativeautocraticdespoticdictatorialdisciplinariandoctrinairedogmaticharshimperiousmagisterialrigidseverestricttotalitariantyrannicalunyielding

Examples from the Web for tyrannic

Historical Examples

  • She was a widow and a man-grabber; she still had a tyrannic beauty and a greed of conquest.

    The Cup of Fury

    Rupert Hughes

  • She replied to his tyrannic voice with one as hard and stabbing as a gimlet.

    Coquette

    Frank Swinnerton

  • In the third line of this rather fine poem 1656 reads 'romantic' for 'tyrannic', and Miss Guiney adopts it.

  • He was trembling through fear that the Spanish government might call him to account for this tyrannic act.

  • That he was pious after a fashion is most likely, but that he also practised the tyrannic cruelties of his age is undoubted.

British Dictionary definitions for tyrannic

tyrannical

tyrannic (tɪˈrænɪk)

adjective
  1. characteristic of or relating to a tyrant or to tyranny; oppressive
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Derived Formstyrannically, adverbtyrannicalness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for tyrannic

tyrannical

adj.

1530s; see tyranny + -ical. Tyrannic was used in this sense from late 15c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper