despot

noun

des·pot ˈde-spət How to pronounce despot (audio)

-ˌspät

: a ruler with absolute power and authority

tyrannical despots

: one exercising power tyrannically : a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way

regards the basketball coach as a despot

: a Byzantine emperor or prince

Christianity : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church

: an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance

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In his 1755 dictionary, Samuel Johnson said of despot, "the word is not in use, except as applied to some Dacian prince; as the despot of Servia." Indeed at that time, the word was mainly used to identify some very specific rulers or religious officials, and the title was an honorable one: it comes from a Greek word meaning "lord" or "master" and was originally applied to deities. That situation changed toward the end of the century, perhaps because French Revolutionists, who were said to have been "very liberal in conferring this title," considered all sovereigns to be tyrannical. When democracy became all the rage, despot came to be used most often for any ruler who wielded absolute and often contemptuous and oppressive power.

Example Sentences

He was a successful basketball coach, but many people regarded him as a petty despot. The company is run by a benevolent despot.

Recent Examples on the Web Over the years, writes Mary McNamara, that character has been cast in many lights: fairy tale princess, colonial despot, self-sacrificing monarch, money-sucking figurehead, underappreciated working woman, unfeeling mother-in-law.

Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Experts have described Orbán as a new-school despot, a soft autocrat, an anocrat, and a reactionary populist.

Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 June 2022 And a video recently resurfaced showing Putin shaking while welcoming Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in mid-February, according to The Independent, fueling speculation that the despot has Parkinson's disease.

Erin Prater, Fortune, 18 June 2022 The first was a combative bully, the other, an arrogant despot.

Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2022 The country was built on a system of checks and balances intended to protect the interests of the minority and ensure no despot could run roughshod.

Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022 His old friend comes through with Hanna's address, and the team brings her in after finding the murder weapon in her apartment along with a rare baseball card taken from a safety despot box during a bank robbery.

Sara Netzley, EW.com, 15 Mar. 2022 Covenant monsters sometimes die with visceral gore and unflinching footage of point-blank gunshot wounds, and a second-episode sequence includes a military execution in which a despot bags prisoners' heads before popping each with a pistol.

Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2022 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 See More

单词	despot
释义	despot noun des·pot ˈde-spət -ˌspät 1 a : a ruler with absolute power and authority tyrannical despots b : one exercising power tyrannically : a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way regards the basketball coach as a despot 2 a : a Byzantine emperor or prince b Christianity : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church c : an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance Did you know? In his 1755 dictionary, Samuel Johnson said of despot, "the word is not in use, except as applied to some Dacian prince; as the despot of Servia." Indeed at that time, the word was mainly used to identify some very specific rulers or religious officials, and the title was an honorable one: it comes from a Greek word meaning "lord" or "master" and was originally applied to deities. That situation changed toward the end of the century, perhaps because French Revolutionists, who were said to have been "very liberal in conferring this title," considered all sovereigns to be tyrannical. When democracy became all the rage, despot came to be used most often for any ruler who wielded absolute and often contemptuous and oppressive power. Synonyms caesar dictator führer fuehrer oppressor pharaoh strongman tyrannizer tyrant See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences He was a successful basketball coach, but many people regarded him as a petty despot. The company is run by a benevolent despot. Recent Examples on the Web Over the years, writes Mary McNamara, that character has been cast in many lights: fairy tale princess, colonial despot, self-sacrificing monarch, money-sucking figurehead, underappreciated working woman, unfeeling mother-in-law. Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Experts have described Orbán as a new-school despot, a soft autocrat, an anocrat, and a reactionary populist. Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 June 2022 And a video recently resurfaced showing Putin shaking while welcoming Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in mid-February, according to The Independent, fueling speculation that the despot has Parkinson's disease. Erin Prater, Fortune, 18 June 2022 The first was a combative bully, the other, an arrogant despot. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2022 The country was built on a system of checks and balances intended to protect the interests of the minority and ensure no despot could run roughshod. Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2022 His old friend comes through with Hanna's address, and the team brings her in after finding the murder weapon in her apartment along with a rare baseball card taken from a safety despot box during a bank robbery. Sara Netzley, EW.com, 15 Mar. 2022 Covenant monsters sometimes die with visceral gore and unflinching footage of point-blank gunshot wounds, and a second-episode sequence includes a military execution in which a despot bags prisoners' heads before popping each with a pistol. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2022 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 See More Word History Etymology Middle French despote, from Greek despotēs master, lord, autocrat, from des- (akin to domos house) + -potēs (akin to posis husband); akin to Sanskrit dampati lord of the house — more at dome, potent First Known Use 1585, in the meaning defined at sense 2a Kids Definition despot noun des·pot ˈde-spət : a ruler having absolute power and authority and especially one who rules cruelly despot noun as in tyrant a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way the despot exiled political dissidents to remote labor camps, where they were left to rot Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance tyrant dictator pharaoh ruler warlord strongman oppressor caesar overlord führer overlord prince king tycoon autocrat fuehrer leader potentate monarch totalitarian magnate authoritarian baron man on horseback caudillo sovereign tyrannizer boss dominator master lord czar queen autarch chief paramount martinet tsar mogul captain taskmaster enforcer kingpin sovran disciplinarian monocrat tzar discipliner Big Brother
随便看	mafas maffias maffick mafficked maffickers mafficking maffickings mafficks maffle maffled maffleed maffleing maffles maffling mafflins Mafia mafias Mafias mafic Mafikeng mafiosi mafioso mafiosos mafite mafoo

despot

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

noun

noun