How to Use despot in a Sentence

despot

noun
  • The company is run by a benevolent despot.
  • He was a successful basketball coach, but many people regarded him as a petty despot.
  • Those are the musings of a despot, not a president.
    — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 20 Jan. 2026
  • On the non-reformist side, the things that have led people to call him a brutal despot.
    — CBS News, 14 Oct. 2020
  • On the contrary, after three meetings the despot is a firm buddy.
    — The Economist, 4 July 2019
  • The free press is the despot’s enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy.
    — Kaitlin Menza, Esquire, 15 Jan. 2018
  • The free press is the despot’s enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy.
    — Sarah Gray, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2018
  • The piece details the rise and fall of Maduro, a violent despot who ruled with an iron fist.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Stalin was a man of gulags and firing squads, a poster villain for the dangers posed by despots.
    — Jeffrey Fleishman, latimes.com, 6 Mar. 2018
  • Both end with pitch-black gags that should serve as cautionary warnings for any aspiring despots.
    — Donald Liebenson, Vulture, 14 June 2024
  • Their social media platforms can change the course of despots and democracies.
    — Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 21 Aug. 2023
  • These despots will continue to lash out at America.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The archive painstakingly preserves a George who is more than a despot or a madman.
    — Sara Georgini, Smithsonian, 30 Jan. 2017
  • Go back to Machiavelli and The Prince, and the idea of the benign despot.
    — Thomas Barrie, A-LIST, 9 Apr. 2018
  • And the space truly was palatial—but think refined career aristocrat rather than louche despot.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Daly is a despot in the game, and the woman who saves the day happens to be played by Milioti herself.
    — Rodney Ho, ajc, 29 Mar. 2021
  • Although those who survived would pick up the pieces, the tyrants knew that their futures as ruthless despots were imperiled.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Conservatives roll their eyes at liberal fears of Trump the despot.
    — Alexander Hinton, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Meanwhile, why hasn’t anyone called her out on her love affair with despot Bashar al-Assad?
    — Michael Arceneaux, Essence, 16 Oct. 2019
  • The despot’s dilemma Iran’s cameras have been repeatedly hacked over the past few years.
    — Dake Kang, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
  • The first was a combative bully, the other, an arrogant despot.
    — Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2022
  • And a wary world was watching to see whether Syria was replacing one despot with another.
    — Richard Engel, NBC News, 9 Dec. 2024
  • That's what a despot - who wants to steal the taxpayers money to enrich his billionaire cabal - does.
    — David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
  • Indeed, the world's eyes have been opened to a despot's perverse plot to crush a sovereign nation every step of the muddied way.
    — Carrie Cordero, CNN, 24 Feb. 2022
  • Maguire envisioned a dystopian Oz where the Wizard is a fascist despot.
    — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Nov. 2024
  • Such horrors are why most countries outlawed the use of chemical weapons long ago—and why Syria’s despot flouts that ban.
    — The Economist, 12 Apr. 2018
  • When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
  • When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
  • When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission.
    — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 May 2026
  • Their attacks on the Play-Doh despot were belated and pathetic.
    — Joe Klein, Washington Post, 8 July 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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