Synonyms for despotism
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
Definitions
- n. 1
Government by a despot or despots: rule by a singular authority, either a single person or a tight-knit group, which rules with absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.
Related words
- Phrases
- enlightened despotism
Forms
- Plural
- despotisms → tyrannies, dictatorships, autocracies, absolutisms…
Example sentences
- dictatorship Algeria is neither a democracy nor a dictatorship.
- tyranny People in the country were living under a tyranny.
- autocracy Down with the police! Down with autocracy!
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| despotism | steady | |
| dictatorship | falling | |
| tyranny | steady | |
| autocracy | falling | |
| absolutism | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 7 letters
- tyranny3
- 9 letters
- autocracy4, shogunate, monocracy
- 10 letters
- absolutism5
- 12 letters
- dictatorship4
- 15 letters
- totalitarianism8
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (tyranny3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- despotisme
- Italiano
- dispotismo
- Español
- despotismo
- Deutsch
- Despotie