What does tyrannical mean?

Definitions for tyrannical
tɪˈræn ɪ kəl, taɪ-tyran·ni·cal

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word tyrannical.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. oppressive, tyrannical, tyrannousadjective

    marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior

    "the oppressive government"; "oppressive laws"; "a tyrannical parent"; "tyrannous disregard of human rights"

  2. authoritarian, autocratic, dictatorial, despotic, tyrannic, tyrannicaladjective

    characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty

    "an authoritarian regime"; "autocratic government"; "despotic rulers"; "a dictatorial rule that lasted for the duration of the war"; "a tyrannical government"

Wiktionary

  1. tyrannicaladjective

    Of, or relating to tyranny or a tyrant.

  2. tyrannicaladjective

    Despotic, oppressive or authoritarian.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Tyrannical, Tyrannicknoun

    Suiting a tyrant; acting like a tyrant; cruel; despotick; imperious.

    Etymology: tyrannus, Latin; tyrannique, French; τυϱαννιϰὸς.

    Charge him home that affects
    Tyrannic power. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    You have contriv’d to take
    From Rome all season’d office, and to wind
    Yourself into a power tyrannical. William Shakespeare.

    Domitian had been tyrannical; and in his time many noble houses were overthrown by false accusations. Francis Bacon.

    Our sects a more tyrannick power assume,
    And would for scorpions change the rods of Rome. Wentworth Dillon.

    Subdue and quell, o’er all the earth,
    Brute violence, and proud tyrannick pow’r. John Milton.

    If the spirit of a subject be rebellious, in a prince it will be tyrannical and intolerable. Taylor.

    She hath recourse
    To tears and prayers, again she feels the smart
    Of a fresh wound from the tyrannick dart. John Denham.

    And by the nobles, by his commons curst,
    Th’ oppressor rul’d tyrannick where he durst;
    Stretch’d o’er the poor and church his iron rod,
    And treats alike his vassals and his God. Alexander Pope.

Wikipedia

  1. tyrannical

    A tyrant (from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos) 'absolute ruler'), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to repressive means. The original Greek term meant an absolute sovereign who came to power without constitutional right, yet the word had a neutral connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, Greek philosopher Plato saw tyrannos as a negative word, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, Plato deemed tyranny the “fourth and worst disorder of a state.” Tyrants lack “the very faculty that is the instrument of judgment”—reason. The tyrannical man is enslaved because the best part of him (reason) is enslaved, and likewise, the tyrannical state is enslaved, because it too lacks reason and order. Its negative connotations only increased, continuing into the Hellenistic period.The philosophers Plato and Aristotle defined a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both his own people and others. The Encyclopédie defined the term as a usurper of sovereign power who makes "his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws". In the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant, one who had the support of the military, arose – specifically in Sicily.

ChatGPT

  1. tyrannical

    Tyrannical refers to exercising power in a cruel, oppressive, harsh, or authoritarian manner. It typically describes rules or governments that are unjust and use their authority or control to harm or suppress people. The term can also be used to describe a person demonstrating such cruel, oppressive behavior. It is often associated with despotism and dictatorship.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Tyrannicaladjective

    of or pertaining to a tyrant; suiting a tyrant; unjustly severe in government; absolute; imperious; despotic; cruel; arbitrary; as, a tyrannical prince; a tyrannical master; tyrannical government

How to pronounce tyrannical?

How to say tyrannical in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of tyrannical in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of tyrannical in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of tyrannical in a Sentence

  1. Tucker Carlson:

    There are concrete facts that show that gun control has a history rooted in racism, [W]e are talking about a country that got its independence via a group of people coming together with their own arms to fight a tyrannical government, and then as a result of that, writing the Second Amendment so that we could continue to protect that country.

  2. Joseph Banister:

    The Internal Revenue Service is everything the so-called tax protesters said it was; nonresponsive, unable to withstand scrutiny, tyrannical, and oblivious to the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.

  3. House Speaker John Boehner:

    The administration's decree to unilaterally expand federal authority is a raw and tyrannical power grab that will crush jobs, these leaders know firsthand that the rule is being shoved down the throats of hardworking people with no input, and places landowners, small businesses, farmers, and manufacturers on the road to a regulatory and economic hell.

  4. Mike Pence:

    For all the media fawning over the sister of the North Korean dictator, I think it’s important that every American knows who this person is and what she’s done, the sister of Kim Jong Un is a central pillar of the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet, an evil family clique that brutalizes, subjugates, starves and imprisons its 25 million people.

  5. Kat Cammack:

    I cannot comply with this tyrannical order, this is the people's house, not Nancy Pelosi's house.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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"tyrannical." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tyrannical>.

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