despotism

Meaning

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.

Synonyms

tyranny

dictatorship

absolutism

autocracy

totalitarianism

authoritarianism

oppression

arbitrariness

shogunate

autarchy

Caesarism

one-man rule

monocracy

severity

Stalinism

despotic state

authoritarian

cruelty

high-handedness

imperiousness

power

tyrannicalness

violence

tryranny

despotic rule

Translations

despotisme

Despotismus

despotismo

Tyrannei

despotismo

dispotismo

δεσποτισμός

despotisme

Despotie

despotisme

Diktatur

tyrannie

dittatura

τυραννία

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdɛspətɪzəm/

Etymology

From French despotisme; equivalent to despot + -ism.