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
King Saran Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) will portray the tyrannical king who is also Amari and Inan's father.
—
EW.com, 22 Jan. 2025
Despite these achievements, many scholars believe the king deserves his tyrannical reputation.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2025
More important, in much of the country, the federal government was seen as ineffective and corrupt, or even tyrannical.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Cortland sawing off his own arm and serving it to his tyrannical father — that’s pretty straightforward.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
EW.com, 22 Jan. 2025
Despite these achievements, many scholars believe the king deserves his tyrannical reputation.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2025
More important, in much of the country, the federal government was seen as ineffective and corrupt, or even tyrannical.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Cortland sawing off his own arm and serving it to his tyrannical father — that’s pretty straightforward.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tyrannical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannical
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Here's Your Zodiac Love Compatibility, Based on Your Sign Sagittarius: Rachel Chu from Crazy Rich Asians To maintain her relationship, Rachel takes on a fight with her boyfriend’s domineering mother Eleanor.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
13 Feb. 2025
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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
Adjective
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But by ceding global leadership to authoritarian China, Trump is creating a world that will almost certainly be hostile to the United States, its prosperity, and its people.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2025
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My Favourite Cake has incurred the wrath of Iran’s authoritarian Islamic Republic regime due to the fact that Farhadpour is shown without a headscarf, while her character is also seen seeking companionship with an equally lonely widower and drinking wine with him.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
19 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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European leaders are aghast at America’s autocratic lurch.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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Image The years since, through the first Trump presidency, the Jan. 6 riot, the impeachments and autocratic rhetoric, have not appreciably changed Michaels’s approach to political sketches.—
Maureen Dowd,
New York Times,
14 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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Anyone who’s ever thrown a pitch or swung a bat knows that the umpire decides in the end — and those decisions have felt arbitrary and highly personal at times.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
23 Feb. 2025
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Trump’s arbitrary 75-day pause on the TikTok ban would expire April 5, 2025.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This concentration of authority is a legacy of decades of dictatorial rule before South Korea’s transition to democracy in 1987.—
ROBERT E. KELLY,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannical. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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