as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
the Magna Carta is historically important because it signified the British rejection of autocracy and constituted the first formal restraining of the power of the monarch
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of autocracy
American investments in allies’ security helped keep the peace in formerly unstable parts of the world, allowing democratic societies from Germany to Japan to prosper, by preventing predatory autocracies from destroying them.
—
Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2025
That game-changing support almost certainly won’t come from the United States, which under President Donald Trump is rapidly aligning itself with Russia and other autocracies.
—David Axe, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
Some are pushing back against the Trump administration’s efforts to gut federal programs and fears about an autocracy in America.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 28 Feb. 2025
Ukraine’s war has become a global proxy war, pitting the advanced democracies that support Kyiv against the Eurasian autocracies that back Moscow.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2025
That game-changing support almost certainly won’t come from the United States, which under President Donald Trump is rapidly aligning itself with Russia and other autocracies.
—David Axe, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
Some are pushing back against the Trump administration’s efforts to gut federal programs and fears about an autocracy in America.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 28 Feb. 2025
Ukraine’s war has become a global proxy war, pitting the advanced democracies that support Kyiv against the Eurasian autocracies that back Moscow.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
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By settling with Trump, two of the firms that Trump targeted — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — have disgraced the legal community and turned their backs on their public duty to fight tyranny.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2025
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The Trump deportations Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez case spotlights wrong federal priorities in deportation cases Deportation as theater is the wrong tactic History has shown us that when governments operate without checks and balances, tyranny follows.—
Nisha Whitehead,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The digital age thrives on collaboration, not dictatorship.—
Nono Bokete,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
-
The film makes more than a token effort to explore the material and psychological realities of life under fascist rule, and the transformation of a charming agrarian utopia into an austere military dictatorship.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Cattaneo and Pope manage to balance the tone of a dramatic historical depiction of fascism with a charming animal story and their secret weapon is Coogan.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Don’t miss the upstairs museum, which displays priceless menorahs, prayer books, shofars and other historic artifacts, with windows that overlook the grave markers in the courtyard, a remnant of the old Budapest ghetto, where more than 2,000 victims of fascism were buried.—
Evan Rail,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The necessity of power sharing also meant that Congress could provide a check against despotism even if the same party held the Presidency and a majority in both houses.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
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Every day brings another lurch into despotism, bringing more fear, gaslighting and chaos.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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