absolute power
Unchecked supreme authority
Absolute power is authority without limits or checks—the kind held by dictators and absolute monarchs.
The phrase often appears in Lord Acton's observation that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It suggests not just control but the absence of any restraining force.
- iron fistBrutal autocratic rule
- iron gripExtremely tight grasp
- almightyHaving complete power
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
- megalomaniaObsession with one's importance
corruption · hubris · sovereignty · dictatorship · totalitarianism · authoritarianism · paranoia · tyranny · despotism · supreme leader · autocracy · Adolf Hitler · Joseph Stalin · Napoleon Bonaparte · authority · Genghis Khan · monarchy · crown
- royaltyking, queen, prince, princess, kings
- Absolutismautocracy, autocrat, despot, despotism, divine right
- Bourbon FranceVersailles, the Sun King, Louis XV, Colbert, Edict of Nantes
- royal powerroyal authority, royal assent, sovereign rule, royal decree, royal command
- tyrannytyrant, despot, tyranny, dictator, autocracy
- controlremote control, self-control, birth control, crowd control, cruise control
absolute powerdemocracy
Rule by the people
popular sovereignty · federalism · separation of powers · participatory democracy · pluralism
absolute powerpowerlessness
Inability to affect outcomes
helplessness · servitude · subordination · weakness · disenfranchisement
absolute powerlimited government
Officially bounded political authority
checks and balances · rule of law · constitutional monarchy · civil liberties · individual rights
power, powerful, absolute, absolutely, empower, powers, powerfully, powered, empowerment