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despotism

[des-puh-tiz-uhm] / ˈdɛs pəˌtɪz əm /
NOUN
absolute power
Synonyms
Antonyms
STRONGEST


Example Sentences

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The long story short is that we haven’t traveled very far thematically since Thomas Jefferson said that timid men prefer despotism — although that was around 250 years ago.

From Salon Aug. 28, 2026

We face the tyranny of ubiquitous pleasure, of easy comfort—the soft despotism of “Brave New World,” not the brutal authoritarianism of “1984.”

From The Wall Street Journal May 8, 2026

However, the party said it was proud that Tchiroma Bakary could find "safe sanctuary" in The Gambia, adding that it was fully aware of how "despotism operates and how dissenters are treated".

From BBC Nov. 24, 2025

Can that Huntington Beach teach the rest of us a thing — or thirty — not just about how to stand up to despotism, but how to beat it back?

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 28, 2025

Prison administration couldn’t help being a despotism, but it could be an enlightened one.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover




Vocabulary lists containing despotism


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