tyranny
n.-
1 oppressive government (n.) C1 Advanced Formala government where one person has all the power and treats people cruelly.
a political system in which a single ruler exercises absolute power, typically in a cruel or oppressive manner.
ExampleThe people finally rose up to end decades of tyranny and demand their freedom.
ExampleThe revolution was born from a collective desire to dismantle the long-standing tyranny that had suppressed political dissent for generations.
UsageOften used with the definite article 'the' when referring to a specific regime.
- dictatorship
- autocracy
- despotism
-
2 cruel use of power (n.) C1 Advanced Formalthe unfair or cruel use of power over other people.
the arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power or control over others.
ExampleThe children suffered under the tyranny of their strict and unkind headmaster.
ExampleThe essay explores the tyranny of social expectations and how they limit individual expression in modern society.
UsageCan be used metaphorically to describe non-political situations of control.
Inherited from Middle English tirannye, from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, tyrania, from Ancient Greek τυραννία (turannía, “tyranny”), from τύραννος (túrannos, “lord, master, sovereign, tyrant”).
- Nountyranny
- Adjectivetyrannical