Noun: tyranny ti-ru-nee
- A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution, laws or opposition etc.)
"The country suffered under a brutal tyranny for decades";
- dictatorship, absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalitarianism
- Dominance through threat of punishment and violence
"The people suffered under the tyranny of the military junta";
- absolutism, despotism
Derived forms: tyrannies
Type of: ascendance, ascendancy, ascendence, ascendency, autarchy, autocracy, control, dominance
Encyclopedia: Tyranny