despotic

adjective

des·​pot·​ic de-ˈspä-tik How to pronounce despotic (audio)
di-
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a despot
a despotic government
despotically adverb

Examples of despotic in a Sentence

a nation ruled by a series of despotic rulers, each seemingly worse than the last the despotic coach demands that his players obey him without question
Recent Examples on the Web
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What China needed was something like a final emperor, the breaker of the despotic chain who would summon modernity by fiat. Chang Che, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024 Small steps toward normality are still sufficient, after decades of despotic rule that brought suffering to almost every household. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2024 Finally, rulers in despotic regimes might accept assistance in boosting economic growth, provided that such growth does not threaten their own hold on power. Stephen D. Krasner, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2020 In just a few days last week, the loose coalition of resistance fighters ended a cruel tyrannical dynastic rein in Syria as Russia and Iran were too distracted to bring air cover to their ally, the despotic President al-Assad. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for despotic 

Word History

Etymology

see despot

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of despotic was in 1604

Dictionary Entries Near despotic

Cite this Entry

“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despotic. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

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