Meanings
nountyranny (countable and uncountable, plural tyrannies)
plural tyrannies
- countableuncountableThe office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
- countableuncountableAbsolute power, or its use.
- countableuncountableA system of government in which power is exercised on behalf of the ruler or ruling class, without regard to the wishes of the governed.
Control, dispossession, violence, and tyranny are not “defensive”: they are part of an organized, ongoing aggression.
2019 April 28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine1 more example
He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle, Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie, Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie: What will he doe ſupported by a king?
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
Similar
noundominance through threat of punishment and violence
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekτυραννία“tyranny”
- Medieval Latintyrannia
- Old Frenchtyrannie
- Middle Englishtirannye
- Englishtyranny
Inherited from Middle English tirannye, from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, tyrania, from Ancient Greek τυραννία (turannía, “tyranny”), from τύραννος (túrannos, “lord, master, sovereign, tyrant”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek τυραννίς
- τυραννίς (turannís)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Arabic طُغْيَان, اِسْتِبْدَاد
- طُغْيَان (ṭuḡyān)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- اِسْتِبْدَاد (istibdād)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Basque tirania
- tiraniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Bengali অত্যাচার
- অত্যাচার (ottacar)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Bulgarian тирани́я, тирани́я
- тирани́я (tiraníja)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- тирани́я (tiraníja)absolute power, or its use
- тирани́я (tiraníja)extreme severity or rigour
Catalan tirania, tirania
- tiraniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tiraniaabsolute power, or its use
Chinese Mandarin 僭主政治, 獨裁 /独裁
- 僭主政治 (jiànzhǔ zhèngzhì)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 獨裁 /独裁 (dúcái)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 暴政 (bàozhèng)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 暴戾 (bàolì)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 極權 /极权 (jíquán)absolute power, or its use
Czech tyranie
- tyraniegovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Danish tyranni, tyranni
- tyrannigovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tyranniabsolute power, or its use
- tyranniextreme severity or rigour
Dutch tyrannie
- tyranniegovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Esperanto tiraneco
- tiranecogovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Estonian türannia, türannia
- türanniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- türanniaoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- türanniaabsolute power, or its use
- türanniaextreme severity or rigour
Finnish tyrannia, tyrannia
- tyranniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tyranniaoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- tyranniaabsolute power, or its use
- tyranniaextreme severity or rigour
French tyrannie
- tyranniegovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
German Tyrannenherrschaft, Tyrannei
- Tyrannenherrschaftgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- Tyranneigovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- Tyranneiabsolute power, or its use
- Tyranneiextreme severity or rigour
Greek τυραννία, τυραννία
- τυραννία (tyrannía)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- τυραννία (tyrannía)absolute power, or its use
- τυραννία (tyrannía)extreme severity or rigour
Hebrew עָרִיצוּת
- עָרִיצוּת ('aritsót)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Hindi ज़ुल्म, ज़ुलमियत
- ज़ुल्म (zulm)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- ज़ुलमियत (zulmiyat)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- अत्याचार (atyācār)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Hungarian zsarnokság, zsarnokság
- zsarnoksággovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- zsarnokságabsolute power, or its use
Icelandic harðstjórn
- harðstjórngovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Indonesian tirani, istibdad
- tiranigovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- istibdadgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tiraniabsolute power, or its use
Irish tíorántacht, aintiarnas
- tíorántachtgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- aintiarnasabsolute power, or its use
- anlathasabsolute power, or its use
Italian tirannide, tirannide
- tirannidegovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tirannideoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- tiranniaabsolute power, or its use
- tiranniaextreme severity or rigour
Japanese 暴戻, 圧政
- 暴戻 (bōrei)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 圧政 (assei)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Korean 폭려, 포학
- 폭려 (pongnyeo)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 포학 (pohak)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- 압정 (apjeong)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Latvian tirānija
- tirānijagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Lithuanian tironija
- tironijagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Malay penganiayaan, aniaya
- penganiayaangovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- aniayagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Norwegian Bokmål tyranni
- tyrannigovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Polish tyrania, tyrania
- tyraniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tyraniaoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- tyraniaabsolute power, or its use
- tyraniaextreme severity or rigour
Portuguese tirania, tirania
- tiraniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tiraniaoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- tiraniaabsolute power, or its use
- tiraniaextreme severity or rigour
Romanian tiranie, tiranie
- tiraniegovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tiranieoffice or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- tiranieabsolute power, or its use
- tiranieextreme severity or rigour
Russian тирани́я, тирани́я
- тирани́я (tiraníja)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- тирани́я (tiraníja)office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler
- тирани́я (tiraníja)absolute power, or its use
- тирани́я (tiraníja)extreme severity or rigour
Slovak tyrania
- tyraniagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Spanish tiranía, tiranía
- tiraníagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- tiraníaabsolute power, or its use
Swahili udhalimu
- udhalimugovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Swedish tyranni
- tyrannigovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Tagalog tiraniya
- tiraniyagovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Tamil கொடுங்கோல் ஆட்சி, கொடுங்கோல்
- கொடுங்கோல் ஆட்சி (koṭuṅkōl āṭci)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- கொடுங்கோல் (koṭuṅkōl)absolute power, or its use
Thai ทรราชย์
- ทรราชย์ (tɔɔ-rá-râat)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Turkish zulüm, zorbalık
- zulümgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- zorbalıkgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Ukrainian тирані́я
- тирані́я (tyraníja)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Urdu ظُلْم, اِسْتِبْداد
- ظُلْم (zulm)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- اِسْتِبْداد (istibdād)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
- ظُلْمِیَت (zulmiyat)government in which a single ruler has absolute power
Vietnamese sự bạo ngược, sự chuyên chế
- sự bạo ngượcgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- sự chuyên chếgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
- chế độ chuyên chếgovernment in which a single ruler has absolute power
Cite this entry
APA
tyranny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tyranny
MLA
“tyranny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tyranny. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tyranny,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tyranny.
Source: tyranny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.