1
as in oppressive
exercising power or authority without interference by others
studied the tyrannous rule of Stalin, communist dictator of the Soviet Union
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
my older sister is a tyrannous bore who isn't happy unless she's in charge
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of tyrannous
These tyrannous tabbies don’t understand that canning is not exclusively for wet food.
—
Julie Klausner, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.
—Tomris Laffly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Feb. 2022
The same study posited that Fela was not the only popular musician who confronted the military and tyrannous leaders of Nigeria between independence in 1960 and Fela’s passing in 1997.
—Garhe Osiebe, Quartz Africa, 21 Feb. 2021
The patriarchs of their respective homes, Polonius (Peter Friedman) and Claudius (Ritchie Coster) enthrone themselves on the toilet, oblivious of the tumult their tyrannous treachery has wreaked. Syringes creepily replace swords.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 19 Aug. 2017
Julie Klausner, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.
—Tomris Laffly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Feb. 2022
The same study posited that Fela was not the only popular musician who confronted the military and tyrannous leaders of Nigeria between independence in 1960 and Fela’s passing in 1997.
—Garhe Osiebe, Quartz Africa, 21 Feb. 2021
The patriarchs of their respective homes, Polonius (Peter Friedman) and Claudius (Ritchie Coster) enthrone themselves on the toilet, oblivious of the tumult their tyrannous treachery has wreaked. Syringes creepily replace swords.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 19 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrannous
Adjective
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An especially visually striking debut, Mosquitoes exists in a saturated hyperreality that is consummately engrossing, and announces the Bertani sisters as formidable portraitists of girlhood cast against the backdrop of an alternately beautiful and oppressive world.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Snakes, freeways, difficult men and Didion’s quiet brutality hang in the air like the oppressive heat of this unusually warm spring day.—
Maddie Connors,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As urbanist scholar Federico Cugurullo and geography researchers Isobel Lee and Rebecca Weir found when speaking with people involved in The Line between 2022 and 2024, the project represented a strange mixture of western science fiction aesthetics and authoritarian ambitions.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
1 May 2026
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But under the authoritarian military regime that comes to power after a coup, being a musician is dangerous, and the Aguirres’ band, Río Babel, becomes an accidental voice of rebellion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
The fundamental processes governing brain health — genetics, neural and synaptic plasticity, and neuroinflammation — do not respect the arbitrary boundaries drawn between neurology and psychiatry.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
-
White-Jacket did cause a stir with its discussion of the arbitrary and cruel use of flogging in the US Navy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The new biopic of Jackson from director Antoine Fuqua and the Jackson estate paints the gloved one as the one true victim — a harmless Peter Pan figure whose own childhood was snatched away by a domineering father.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Joseph has a cruel and domineering air about him.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Beyond blood, these women are tied together by destiny and the decisions of the violent and tyrannical men surrounding them.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
-
All the orchestration and glamour of the rally, the glory of the Leader, was meant to tell a story—of a nation wounded from within, of a fifth column, of tyrannical foreign countries, of an economic crisis, and of a grandiose account of renewal and coming greatness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The series has devolved into a hysteria that the young and arrogant Timberwolves feed on since that first quarter of Game 2.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
However, many thought Tilson Thomas too brash and arrogant to lead an orchestra, and, around the same time, Tilson Thomas fell in with New York’s disco-hopping crowd.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Hard to Be a God is about a planet that has not been allowed to advance beyond the Middle Ages, and descended into a filthy, despotic, and violent world.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
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Remarkably, among the foremost critics of Cuba’s single-party despotic rule is one of Castro’s own daughters, Alina Fernández Revuelta.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rácz has been interpreted as a foil to Vladimír Mečiar, a real-life politician who served as Slovakia’s prime minister between 1990 and 1998 and was heavily criticized for his autocratic tendencies, strongman persona, and ties to organized crime.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
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The company fears that in an effort to crack down on espionage, the Defense Department might create monitoring capabilities that supersede even the Chinese Communist Party’s, sliding America into an autocratic AI regime.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrannous. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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