petty tyrant
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.
It’s just that when Ditka ruled as a petty tyrant, fans and the media too often celebrated his behavior as hard-nosed toughness or excused it with a smirk and a shrug.
From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2019
But Savage is something much better: a petty tyrant who sees the entire zombie apocalypse as a challenge to his authority, until he finally cracks and becomes a chortling, expansive nihilist.
From The Verge • Sep. 24, 2017
Christie denied any involvement, but the episode seemed to cement an image of him as a petty tyrant.
From New York Times • Nov. 20, 2014
“Sacco grants dignity to his subjects—the petty tyrant and the suffering victim alike—simply through the meticulousness with which he renders them,” Campbell Robertson wrote in July.
From Slate • Nov. 30, 2012
The rising was led by Robert of Belesme, earl of Shrewsbury, a petty tyrant of the most ruffianly type, the terror of the Welsh marches.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various
