despot
Cruel absolute ruler
A despot is a ruler with absolute power, especially one who wields it oppressively or tyrannically.
The word often describes dictators and authoritarian leaders: The despot crushed all political opposition.
In looser use, despot applies to anyone who exercises control in a domineering way: My boss is a petty despot who micromanages everything.
Cruel, absolute ruler
- dictatorRuler with total control
- autocratSole wielder of power
- sovereignSupreme in power
- monarchHereditary supreme ruler
emperor · czar · sultan · pharaoh · potentate · overlord · warlord · strongman
Unjust exercise of power
- subjugationForcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
authoritarianism · dictatorship · autocracy · domination · suppression · censorship · coercion · intimidation
Aggressively asserting control
- imperiousArrogantly authoritative
- overbearingArrogantly dominating in manner
- high-handedDomineering without regard for others
- arbitraryBased on personal whim
draconian · iron-fisted · ruthless · merciless · capricious · unaccountable · megalomaniacal · power-hungry
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
cowering · silenced · subjugated · terrorized · fearful · submission · obedience · surveillance
Total, without qualification
- uncheckedNot controlled or limited
- unlimitedWithout bounds or restrictions
- supremeHighest in authority
- unilateralAffecting one side only
centralized · consolidated · concentrated · unrestrained · totalizing · monopolized · entrenched · hereditary
tyrant
Cruel, absolute ruler
monarch · emperor · czar · sultan · pharaoh · potentate · overlord · warlord · strongman · shah
oppression
Unjust exercise of power
- subjugationForcing into submission
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
totalitarianism · authoritarianism · dictatorship · autocracy · domination · suppression · censorship · coercion · intimidation · cruelty
domineering
Aggressively asserting control
- imperiousArrogantly authoritative
- overbearingArrogantly dominating in manner
- high-handedDomineering without regard for others
arbitrary · draconian · iron-fisted · ruthless · merciless · capricious · unaccountable · megalomaniacal · power-hungry · controlling
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
oppressed · cowering · silenced · subjugated · terrorized · fearful · submission · obedience · surveillance · secret-police
absolute
Total, without qualification
- uncheckedNot controlled or limited
- unlimitedWithout bounds or restrictions
- supremeHighest in authority
unilateral · centralized · consolidated · concentrated · unrestrained · totalizing · monopolized · entrenched · hereditary · dynastic
- tyrantsHitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- authorityleaders, ruler, rulers, monarch, bosses
- officialsofficial, officials, bailiff, bureaucrat, congressman
- rulersmonarch, Caesar, ruler, sovereign, emperor
- Absolutismabsolute monarch, absolute power, absolute rule, absolutism, autocracy
despotdemocrat
Advocate for popular rule
elected leader · constitutional monarch · representative · delegate · parliamentarian
despotliberator
One who frees others
emancipator · servant leader · philosopher-king · Mahatma Gandhi · Nelson Mandela