tyranny
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English
Etymology
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”).
Pronunciation
Noun
tyranny (countable and uncountable, plural tyrannies)
- A government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power, or this system of government; especially, one that acts cruelly and unjustly.
- The office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
- Absolute power, or its use.
- A system of government in which power is exercised on behalf of the ruler or ruling class, without regard to the wishes of the governed.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i:
- He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle,
Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie,
Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie:
What will he doe ſupported by a king?
- 2019 April 28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine:
- Control, dispossession, violence, and tyranny are not “defensive”: they are part of an organized, ongoing aggression.
- Extreme severity or rigour.
Synonyms
- (government): autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, absolute monarchy, tyranthood
Hyponyms
- (government): absolute monarchy, benevolent absolutism, enlightened absolutism, enlightened despotism
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
government in which a single ruler has absolute power
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office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
absolute power, or its use
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extreme severity or rigour
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
Further reading
- “tyranny”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “tyranny”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “tyranny”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Middle English
Noun
tyranny
- Alternative form of tirannye