as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
the Magna Carta is historically important because it signified the British rejection of autocracy and constituted the first formal restraining of the power of the monarch
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of autocracy
Researchers argued that career anxiety under autocracy creates both pro-regime henchmen and anti-regime plotters.
—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
For example, in the 1930s, four major democracies (Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain) became autocracies.
—Ray Dalio, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
There’s a lot of different crumbs of what leads to the autocracy, to the potential dictatorship.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026
Hopefully the majority of people who still wish to live in a free society will vote in November to overturn the Republican march away from freedom and to autocracy and fascism.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
For example, in the 1930s, four major democracies (Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain) became autocracies.
—Ray Dalio, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2026
There’s a lot of different crumbs of what leads to the autocracy, to the potential dictatorship.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 12 Mar. 2026
Hopefully the majority of people who still wish to live in a free society will vote in November to overturn the Republican march away from freedom and to autocracy and fascism.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for autocracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autocracy
Noun
-
Without constant reinforcement, these muscles will atrophy, and when real tyranny arrives, the flabby citizen will be powerless to resist.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Focus Features has set a Sept 11 release for the Paul Greengrass directed, Andrew Garfield starring The Uprising, which follows the untold true story of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Anti-dictatorship, but for kids Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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In a nation that has long prided itself on a free and vibrant news media, rights watchdogs and lawmakers from across the political spectrum denounced the move as an attack on the press without precedent since the end of Argentina’s military dictatorship in 1983.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The questions and solutions change with every performance, ranging from Masli making difficult phone calls on an audience member’s behalf, recovering a long-missing recipe, finding the name of an old song or ending global fascism.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
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There are so many good folks who are carving out community and lifting each other up in the face of fascism.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Eight decades later, as nations inch toward despotism, an art animated by democratic impulses makes a stronger case for itself.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Garber’s book offers reason to think that the decline of reading and the rise of authoritarianism are twinned forms of disempowerment.—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes the reader back in time to examine the state of nature debate and the origins of authoritarianism versus democratic forms of government.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocracy. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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