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.

---

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

---

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

The immediate context of Fallingwater was the ideological battle over modern architecture against a background of economic collapse and political tyranny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

To give Merz credit, he seemed to understand the historical moment and tried to embrace his role as Europe’s last man standing against tyranny.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Computing remained very expensive despite the new technology, owing to what mathematicians call the tyranny of numbers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

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

But I did not consider myself otherwise engaged at all, and here he was, offering me temporary respite from the tyranny of the house.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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

Mr. Turk began his career as a militant Communist, speaking out against dictatorship, and ended it as a symbol of resistance to successive tyrannies in Syria.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

Ironically, the moves to liberate Soviet citizens from the tyrannies of the past made Gorbachev more popular in the West than in his own country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2022

By comparison with that existing today, all the tyrannies of the past were half-hearted and inefficient.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Related Words

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