tyranny
Cruel absolute power
Tyranny is cruel and oppressive rule by a single person or small group wielding absolute power.
The tyrant governs without legal restraint or regard for the governed: The colonists rebelled against the king's tyranny.
By extension, any oppressive force or condition can be called tyranny: the tyranny of the clock, the tyranny of public opinion.
The word carries strong negative weight—calling something tyranny is a serious accusation.
Savage, merciless behavior
- atrocityUnforgivable mass cruelty
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
ruthlessness · mercilessness · torture · terror · reign of terror · iron fist · jackboot · yoke
State controls everything absolutely
- fascismUltranationalist dictatorial political system
- StalinismTotalitarian Communist doctrine
- MaoismPeasant-centered communist doctrine
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
nationalism · jingoism · propaganda · indoctrination · dogma · conformity · regimentation · collectivism
Ruler with absolute power
- dictatorRuler with total control
- authoritarianFavoring absolute control
- strongmanPowerful lifter or despot
- autocratSole wielder of power
monarch · emperor · czar · sultan · pharaoh · overlord · regime · junta
Forcing into submission
- dominationSupreme authority held
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
coercion · intimidation · crackdown · clampdown · silencing · censorship · martial law · curfew
Defiance of established power
- revolutionViolent governmental overthrow
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
- overthrowForcible removal from power
liberation · freedom · defiance · dissent · underground · insurgency · coup · abolition
brutality
Savage, merciless behavior
- atrocityUnforgivable mass cruelty
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
inhumanity · ruthlessness · mercilessness · torture · terror · reign of terror · iron fist · jackboot · yoke · chains
totalitarianism
State controls everything absolutely
- fascismUltranationalist dictatorial political system
- StalinismTotalitarian Communist doctrine
- MaoismPeasant-centered communist doctrine
authoritarianism · nationalism · jingoism · propaganda · indoctrination · dogma · conformity · regimentation · collectivism · Big Brother
despot
Ruler with absolute power
- dictatorRuler with total control
- authoritarianFavoring absolute control
- strongmanPowerful lifter or despot
autocrat · monarch · emperor · czar · sultan · pharaoh · overlord · regime · junta · dynasty
subjugation
Forcing into submission
- dominationSupreme authority held
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
persecution · coercion · intimidation · crackdown · clampdown · silencing · censorship · martial law · curfew · purge
rebellion
Defiance of established power
- revolutionViolent governmental overthrow
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
overthrow · liberation · freedom · defiance · dissent · underground · insurgency · coup · abolition · emancipation
- American RevolutionDeclaration of Independence, Boston Tea Party, Continental Congress, founding fathers, Stamp Act
- political ideologiesconservatism, conservative, anarchism, liberalism, liberal
- political theoryanarchism, authoritarianism, conservatism, democracy, fascism
- dictatorshipsdictatorship, autocracy, totalitarianism, despotism, fascism
- Julius CaesarJulius Caesar, Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marc Antony
- political fictiondystopia, utopia, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1984, dystopian fiction
tyrannydemocracy
Rule by the people
self-government · republic · self-governance · self-rule · constitutional government
tyrannyfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · emancipation · liberation · independence · autonomy
tyrannyleniency
Mildness in punishment
mercy · clemency · benevolence · compassion · tolerance
- petty tyrant
- tyrannical ruleHarsh authoritarian governance
- tyranny of the majorityDemocracy's oppressive potential
- tyranny of the massesMajority imposing unjust rule
- tyranny of majorityDemocratic oppression of minorities
tyrant, tyrannical, tyrants, tyrannize, tyrannous, tyrannies, tyrannizing, tyrannized, tyrannically