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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Recent Examples of autocracy
Taken together, these overlapping layers of resistance make the path to autocracy far more challenging than many casual observers might assume.
—
Victor Menaldo, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025
When a leader sets legislators on the sidelines, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did during the COVID pandemic and Trump is doing now, republican governing gives way to autocracy.
—Nolan Finley, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Trump’s transactional and pragmatic engagement with adversaries may do more to tame geopolitical rivalry than Biden’s view of a globe defined by a clash between democracy and autocracy.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Democracies were left dependent on autocracies, which were empowered to engage in economic coercion.
—Katherine Tai, Foreign Affairs, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Victor Menaldo, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025
When a leader sets legislators on the sidelines, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did during the COVID pandemic and Trump is doing now, republican governing gives way to autocracy.
—Nolan Finley, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Trump’s transactional and pragmatic engagement with adversaries may do more to tame geopolitical rivalry than Biden’s view of a globe defined by a clash between democracy and autocracy.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
Democracies were left dependent on autocracies, which were empowered to engage in economic coercion.
—Katherine Tai, Foreign Affairs, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
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What happened in Anaheim a century ago shows how to combat tyranny and white supremacy — and also that the work is never really done.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2025
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The monster was the liberation from the tyranny of image.—
E. Alex Jung,
Vulture,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The movie recounts the experiences of Eunice Paiva and her family after her husband Rubens Paiva was taken into custody during the country’s military dictatorship.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
3 Mar. 2025
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That is quite an achievement for a film which is certainly not a popcorn movie, recording the real-life story of Eunice Pavia and her reinvention of herself and rebuilding of her family after her husband, Rubens Pavia, an opponent of Brazil’s military dictatorship, disappeared after arrest in 1971.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Here’s a Brazilian film about fighting fascism at home with big and small acts of resistance.—
Cristina Escobar,
refinery29.com,
3 Mar. 2025
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From fraught talk of cultural fascism to economic critiques of the entertainment industry, honorees and their peers predicted an uncertain but fiery future for filmmakers, cast, and crew.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Cutting bureaucracy isn’t usually associated with despotism and power grabs.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
28 Feb. 2025
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Picking your form of government used to feel like an existential choice, but now despotism and oligarchy are hardly differentiated.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to autocracy
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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