tyranny

[tir-uh-nee]

noun

plural

tyrannies 

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

/ 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

• tyrannous adjective
• tyrannously adverb
• tyrannousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tyranny¹

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; tyrant, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of tyranny¹

C14: from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, from Latin tyrannus _tyrant

Example Sentences

Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said "this is what tyranny looks like."

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A portable TV is programmed to play only episodes of “The Simpsons” and offers a clever critique of the streaming era’s tyranny of choice.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I believe the best way in which we can demonstrate resistance is not bending the knee to tyranny.”

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They live off the unreliability of the peso or, to borrow from Milton Friedman, the “tyranny of the status quo.”

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My hope is that this war ends with the release of hostages, the end of Hamas’s tyranny, and the rebirth of Gaza as a place open to peace and prosperity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• authoritarianism www.thesaurus.com
• autocracy 
• coercion 
• cruelty 
• despotism 
• domination 
• oligarchy 
• oppression 
• terrorism 
• totalitarianism