variants
also tyrannic
1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a tyrannical ruler whose terrible reign was marked by unceasing violence
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in domineering
fond of ordering people around
even when he was still a toddler, he tended to be a tyrannical playmate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tyrannical
Cortland sawing off his own arm and serving it to his tyrannical father — that’s pretty straightforward.
—
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2025
The original Caligari, in which a mysterious doctor and his fortune-telling somnambulist commit a series of murders and drive two young people to madness, is often regarded as a critique of Germans’ blind obedience to tyrannical authority during the First World War.
—Elle Carroll, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
Young Leo is plucked from another world to lead the fight against the tyrannical villains who have kept the 10 realms under their control.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
The film follows Lucius, played by Mescal, who is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home in Rome is taken over by tyrannical rulers.
—Julia Teti, WWD, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tyrannical 
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2025
The original Caligari, in which a mysterious doctor and his fortune-telling somnambulist commit a series of murders and drive two young people to madness, is often regarded as a critique of Germans’ blind obedience to tyrannical authority during the First World War.
—Elle Carroll, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
Young Leo is plucked from another world to lead the fight against the tyrannical villains who have kept the 10 realms under their control.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
The film follows Lucius, played by Mescal, who is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home in Rome is taken over by tyrannical rulers.
—Julia Teti, WWD, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tyrannical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannical
Adjective
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Currently, asylum seekers who committed crimes seen as political in nature—i.e. toward an oppressive regime—could be granted asylum, as could those guilty of misdemeanors.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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But the show pulls back just enough on the oppressive horror vibes of Season Two without losing a perpetual sense of unease from those scenes.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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He’s had something of a habit of playing domineering fathers, doing so on Ugly Betty (2006–2007) and as Charles Widmore on Lost (2006–2010).—
Sezin Devi Koehler,
EW.com,
8 Feb. 2025
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The stress of being a loyal husband and father while toiling tirelessly at Spacely Space Sprockets – headed by a domineering man with a Napoleon complex – seems to float away as the zooming saucer-like aero cars with large bubble roofs leave behind popcorn-like residue from fuel pellets and radium.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Serbia’s authoritarian leader should be riding high, lifted by economic growth that is four times the European average, falling unemployment and steadily rising wages.—
Andrew Higgins,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Amid the authoritarian typhoon of Donald Trump’s first month in office, the Democratic Party is attempting to position itself as the front line of anti-MAGA resistance.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Sophomore guards Green, Kensley Vest and Lexi Ehrhardt did a masterful job from that point protecting the ball and keeping it away from the Jaguars.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2025
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From drafting Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 Draft to making crucial trades like bringing in A.J. Brown and drafting key players such as Jalen Carter and DeVonta Smith, Roseman's moves have been nothing short of masterful.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Authoritarian movements commonly embrace the notion that their country’s institutions have been subverted by enemies; autocratic leaders including Erdogan, Orban, and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro routinely push such claims.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
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Musk is staging a coup, using tactics similar to those used by the autocratic Viktor Orbán of Hungary.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The Trump of the first half of the movie might surprise viewers used to the 2025 version: an outer-borough scion, ambitious but unsure, who bristles under his despotic father, aspires to greater recognition and bets big on the revival of Midtown Manhattan during its 1970s nadir.—
Marc Tracy,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2025
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Guaranteeing the people’s right to bear arms, both through state militias and as individuals, would serve as deterrence against federal leaders with despotic aspirations.—
Pioneer Press,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The doctors argued the removal was arbitrary and capricious, violating the Administrative Procedure Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act.—
Bart Jansen,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
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Unions sued, calling the resignation offer unlawful, arbitrary and capricious The legal group Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit on Feb. 4 on behalf of labor unions representing more than 800,000 civil servants.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Though Yoon rescinded the decree after just six hours, the martial law imposition was the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years and evoked painful memories of past dictatorial rules in the 1960s-80s.—
Danielle Wallace,
Fox News,
26 Jan. 2025
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World Gone, the Assads Jay Nordlinger On the rise and fall of Syria’s dictatorial dynasty.—
Daniel Foster,
National Review,
23 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near tyrannical
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannical. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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