Meanings
plural autocracies
- uncountableA form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual.
I want to be clear: This shift toward democracy and away from autocracy is no reason to break out the “mission accomplished” banner.
2022 December 1, John Avlon, “Opinion: The tide is turning against autocracy”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2024 - countableAn instance of this government.
The will of the people of Ukraine to defend their democracy is a reminder that autocracies cannot ultimately overcome free people willing to defend their liberty.
2022 December 1, John Avlon, “Opinion: The tide is turning against autocracy”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Aug 20241 more example
Among those who study authoritarian regimes, a consensus has emerged that [US president Donald Trump's] early moves display common characteristics of burgeoning autocracies.
2025 May 9, Cameron Joseph, “They’ve watched democracies fail. They see it happening under Trump.”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2025
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna political system governed by a single individual
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekαὐτοκρατής“one who governs alone”
- Ancient Greekαὐτοκρατία“A system of government by one person with absolute power.”
- Englishautocracy
From auto- + -cracy, from Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατία (autokratía, “A system of government by one person with absolute power.”), from αὐτός (autós, “single, self, same, alone”) + κράτος (krátos, “power”) + -ία (-ía, “feminine abstract nouns suffix”); see also Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατής (autokratḗs, “one who governs alone”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans outokrasie
- outokrasieform of government
Arabic أُوتُوقْرَاطِيَّة, اِسْتِبْدَاد
- أُوتُوقْرَاطِيَّة (ʔutuqrāṭiyya)form of government
- اِسْتِبْدَاد (istibdād)form of government
Basque autokrazia
- autokraziaform of government
Bengali স্বৈরতন্ত্র
- স্বৈরতন্ত্র (śōirotontro)form of government
Bulgarian автокра́ция, самодържа́вие
- автокра́ция (avtokrácija)form of government
- самодържа́вие (samodăržávie)form of government
- самовла́стие (samovlástie)form of government
Catalan autocràcia
- autocràciaform of government
Chinese Mandarin 專制 /专制, 獨裁 /独裁
- 專制 /专制 (zhuānzhì)form of government
- 獨裁 /独裁 (dúcái)form of government
Czech autokracie, samovláda
- autokracieform of government
- samovládaform of government
Danish autokrati
- autokratiform of government
Dutch autocratie, alleenheerschappij
- autocratieform of government
- alleenheerschappijform of government
Esperanto aŭtokratio, solrego
- aŭtokratioform of government
- solregoform of government
- absolutismoform of government
Estonian autokraatia
- autokraatiaform of government
Finnish yksinvalta, autokratia
- yksinvaltaform of government
- autokratiaform of government
- yksinvaltiusform of government
French autocratie
- autocratieform of government
German Autokratie, Alleinherrschaft
- Autokratieform of government
- Alleinherrschaftform of government
Greek αυταρχία
- αυταρχία (aftarchía)form of government
Hebrew אוֹטוֹקְרַטְיָה
- אוֹטוֹקְרַטְיָה (otokrátya)form of government
Hindi एकतंत्र, निरंकुशता
- एकतंत्र (ektantra)form of government
- निरंकुशता (niraṅkuśtā)form of government
Hungarian autokrácia, egyeduralom
- autokráciaform of government
- egyeduralomform of government
- önkényuralomform of government
Icelandic einræði, einræðisríki
- einræðiform of government
- einræðisríkiform of government
Indonesian autokrasi, otokrasi
- autokrasiform of government
- otokrasiform of government
Irish uathlathas
- uathlathasform of government
Italian autocrazia
- autocraziaform of government
Japanese 専制, 独裁政治
- 専制 (sensei)form of government
- 独裁政治 (dokusai seiji)form of government
- 専制政治 (sensei seiji)form of government
- 独裁 (dokusai)form of government
Korean 전제 정치, 전제
- 전제 정치 (jeonje jeongchi)form of government
- 전제 (jeonje)form of government
Latvian autokrātija
- autokrātijaform of government
Lithuanian autokratija
- autokratijaform of government
Malay autokrasi
- autokrasiform of government
Norwegian Bokmål autokrati
- autokratiform of government
Polish autarchia, autokratyzm
- autarchiaform of government
- autokratyzmform of government
- jednowładztwoform of government
- jedynowładztwoform of government
- samowładztwoform of government
- autokracjaform of government
Portuguese autocracia
- autocraciaform of government
Romanian autocrație
- autocrațieform of government
Russian автокра́тия, самодержа́вие
- автокра́тия (avtokrátija)form of government
- самодержа́вие (samoderžávije)form of government
- самовла́стие (samovlástije)form of government
Slovak autokracia, samovláda
- autokraciaform of government
- samovládaform of government
Spanish autocracia
- autocraciaform of government
Swedish autokrati, envälde
- autokratiform of government
- enväldeform of government
Tagalog awtokrasya
- awtokrasyaform of government
Thai อัตตาธิปไตย, เอกาธิปไตย
- อัตตาธิปไตย (àt-dtaa-tí-bpà-dtai)form of government
- เอกาธิปไตย (ee-gaa-tí-bpà-dtai)form of government
Turkish otokrasi, saltçılık
- otokrasiform of government
- saltçılıkform of government
Ukrainian автокра́тія, самодержа́вство
- автокра́тія (avtokrátija)form of government
- самодержа́вство (samoderžávstvo)form of government
- самовла́ддя (samovláddja)form of government
- самовла́дство (samovládstvo)form of government
Urdu شَخْصی حُکُومَت, اِسْتِبْداد
- شَخْصی حُکُومَت (śaxsī hukūmat)form of government
- اِسْتِبْداد (istibdād)form of government
- مُطْلَقُ ٱلْعَنانی (mutlaqu l-'anānī)form of government
Vietnamese chế độ chuyên quyền
- chế độ chuyên quyềnform of government
Yiddish סאַמאָדערזשאַוויע, אויטאָקראַטיע
- סאַמאָדערזשאַוויע (samoderzhavye)form of government
- אויטאָקראַטיע (oytokratye)form of government
- זעלבסטהערשאַפֿט (zelbsthershaft)form of government
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with autocracy
Cite this entry
autocracy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocracy
“autocracy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocracy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autocracy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autocracy.
Source: autocracy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.