as in dictatorship
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a popular uprising replaced that nation's tyranny with freedom and democracy
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of tyranny
The show is airing at a time when a lot of people are thinking about tyranny in a very concrete way.
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Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
In 1847, during the year remembered as Black ’47, Ireland was enduring political and existential chaos due to famine and tyranny.
—William Higgins, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2024
Different people hold many different beliefs, and one of the key differences between democracy and tyranny is the freedom to think independently.
—Hod Fleishman, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Russia has never had a James Madison, who pitted ambition against ambition, sordid motives against sordid motives in the U.S. Constitution to arrest tyranny.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 15 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tyranny 
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
In 1847, during the year remembered as Black ’47, Ireland was enduring political and existential chaos due to famine and tyranny.
—William Higgins, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2024
Different people hold many different beliefs, and one of the key differences between democracy and tyranny is the freedom to think independently.
—Hod Fleishman, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Russia has never had a James Madison, who pitted ambition against ambition, sordid motives against sordid motives in the U.S. Constitution to arrest tyranny.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 15 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tyranny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyranny
Noun
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Most of those killed were members of the indigenous Maya population, targeted by successive military dictatorships in a reign of genocidal terror.Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 29 Dec. 2024
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After 54 years, the Assad family’s brutal dictatorship in Syria has finally ended.Farrah Hassen, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The rival ideologies of the 20th century — fascism, nationalism, communism — had lost the battle of ideas.Ben Ansell, NPR, 20 Dec. 2024
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From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others.Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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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
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His thug military’s attacks — and those of his thug street enforcers known as colectivos — on Venezuelans who’ve taken to the streets to protest his Gómez-ish despotism?Tim Padgett, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
Noun
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The similarities among these places are real, because Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and, until now, Syria all belong to an informal network of autocracies.Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
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Assad may melt away into exile in a lavish row of Moscow dachas, and his hollow autocracy may crumble fast.Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Orwell had robust opinions on totalitarianism, surveillance, censorship and class struggle.Will Noble, CNN, 23 Nov. 2024
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And yet, though unseen by even his own son for years, Lai has become the global face of conscience rights in its perpetual struggle against totalitarianism.Ashley McGuire, National Review, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In other words, the absolutism or the abolitionist approach to cutting out meat from our diet doesn’t work for a lot of people.Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
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The political absolutism of Sartre was a way of asserting fearlessness: Nothing, not even the presence of the U.S. Army, can intimidate me!Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Tyranny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyranny. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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