autocrat
Americannoun
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an absolute ruler, especially a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government as by inherent right, not subject to restrictions.
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a person invested with or claiming to exercise absolute authority.
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a person who behaves in an authoritarian manner; a domineering person.
noun
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a ruler who possesses absolute and unrestricted authority
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a domineering or dictatorial person
Etymology
Origin of autocrat
First recorded in 1795–1805; from Greek autokratḗs “self-ruling, ruling alone,” from auto- auto- 1 + krát(os) “power” + -ēs, adjective suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To his critics, he was a ruthless autocrat who steered the nation on a path of societal and economic isolation.
As the spiritual and political leader of the Middle East’s second-largest nation, he projected power through Shiite militias across the region and survived waves of unrest as autocrats around him were toppled.
The author is also refreshingly clear-eyed in criticizing the brutality of the Paul Kagame regime in Rwanda, for instance, and commendably avoids the usual endorsement of any autocrats who produce high growth.
But Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was also an autocrat, and he was slow to introduce political reforms.
From Salon
Dictators, autocrats and other malign actors strategically use humor as a type of diminutive to minimize their real intent and to distract the public and media.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
