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
Washington’s traditional impulse to divide the world into democracies and autocracies obscures a global turn toward nationalism that began with the 2008 financial crisis and led to protectionism, hardening borders, and shrinking growth in many parts of the world.
—
Michael Brenes, Foreign Affairs, 28 Jan. 2025
His steadfast support for Ukraine and NATO expansion, at a time of creeping autocracy in Europe, was heroic.
—Douglas Brinkley, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2025
The post-Cold War era of America as sole superpower has evolved into a multipolar world where the United States confronts an alliance of autocracies that believe liberal democracy is a dying political system — even as many Americans have lost faith in their institutions.
—Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2025
Anti-science mysticism is enabling autocracy around the globe.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for autocracy 
Michael Brenes, Foreign Affairs, 28 Jan. 2025
His steadfast support for Ukraine and NATO expansion, at a time of creeping autocracy in Europe, was heroic.
—Douglas Brinkley, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2025
The post-Cold War era of America as sole superpower has evolved into a multipolar world where the United States confronts an alliance of autocracies that believe liberal democracy is a dying political system — even as many Americans have lost faith in their institutions.
—Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2025
Anti-science mysticism is enabling autocracy around the globe.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
-
After half a century of tyranny, the Assad family’s rule over Syria has come to an end.—
Fawaz A. Gerges,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Jan. 2025
-
The tyranny of an unscaleable beauty hierarchy will forever be the inspired stuff of great horror moviemaking.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
When Johnson Sirleaf came to power, in 2006, Liberia had been wracked by more than a decade of civil war, a military dictatorship, and chronic poverty.—
John Cassidy,
The New Yorker,
8 Feb. 2025
-
If allowed to proceed, Trump's purge of our federal law enforcement workforce will expose America to authoritarianism and dictatorship.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The movement, which has gained traction on social media, brands itself as a fight against fascism.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
-
Did defeating the Nazis spur the Allies to a golden age of justice or rid the world of fascism?—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Western governments have burdened Georgia with a special status as a democracy-in-the-making in a region otherwise beset by despotism.—
Christian Caryl,
Foreign Affairs,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Although Adolf Hitler met his road to perdition, Joseph Stalin survived and extended his despotism.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
14 Mar. 2024
Articles Related to autocracy
Thesaurus Entries Near autocracy
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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