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despotic

[dih-spot-ik] / dɪˈspɒt ɪk /


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.

In case you’ve forgotten the events of 2014’s “The Lego Movie,” it’s about a group of heroes resisting the conformist authoritarianism of a ridiculous figure called President Business, also known as the despotic Lord Business.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Francisco Franco had heir faces on stamps, currency, and coins during their respective despotic reigns.

From Slate • Dec. 20, 2025

Far from being despotic, Louis sought to be a constitutional monarch, with representative institutions that could mobilize consent and resources behind state policy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

In reality they were abandoned to poverty under the rule of despotic local leaders.

From BBC • May 25, 2024

The well-known face was there: stern, relentless as ever—there was that peculiar eye which nothing could melt, and the somewhat raised, imperious, despotic eyebrow.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë




Vocabulary lists containing despotic