as in dictator
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the people universally feared the tyrant, who was notorious for his frequent use of torture
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Recent Examples of tyrant
Examples range from businesses like Enron, Tyco, and Bernie Madoff, along with historical tyrants like Stalin or Hitler to modern figures like Putin, and industries like tobacco that knowingly harm users for profit.
—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
The American origin story is rooted in the notion that George III was its vanquished villain, an irrational tyrant who oppressed the American colonists.
—
ABC News,
3 June 2026
If anything, the story during the semiquincentennial casts George as more of a whole person than the tyrant depicted in the ad hominem complaints peppered throughout the Declaration of Independence.
—
Laurie Kellman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
This year’s 250th anniversary events, commemorating America’s founders’ refusal to be bound by a tyrant, were supposed to be planned by a nonpartisan, nonprofit group created by Congress in 2016 via a bipartisan congressional caucus of more than 350 members.
—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyrant
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
The American origin story is rooted in the notion that George III was its vanquished villain, an irrational tyrant who oppressed the American colonists.
—
ABC News,
3 June 2026
If anything, the story during the semiquincentennial casts George as more of a whole person than the tyrant depicted in the ad hominem complaints peppered throughout the Declaration of Independence.
—
Laurie Kellman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
This year’s 250th anniversary events, commemorating America’s founders’ refusal to be bound by a tyrant, were supposed to be planned by a nonpartisan, nonprofit group created by Congress in 2016 via a bipartisan congressional caucus of more than 350 members.
—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tyrant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyrant
dictator
Noun
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Its flint-hearted ferocity was a return to what the dynasts of the past—warlords, kings, and dictators—would find routine.
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And following the ousting of longtime dictator Bashir Al-Assad, Syria continues to have armed conflict and sectarian violence.
Cite this Entry
“Tyrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyrant. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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