autocrat
noun
au·to·crat ˈȯ-tə-ˌkrat 
1
: a person (such as a monarch) ruling with unlimited authority
2
: one who has undisputed influence or power
He was the autocrat of his household.
Synonyms
- monarch
- potentate
- ruler
- sovereign
- sovran
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God.
Recent Examples on the Web Evans plays the revolutionary Curtis Everett, who leads a rebellion against the train’s mysterious autocrat, Mr. Wilford. 
Sophie Hanson, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Aug. 2022 Vucic’s behavior as that of an autocrat who shouldn’t be appeased. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 31 July 2022 Instead, an aide to Ramzan Kadyrov, the autocrat who runs Chechnya, berated them at length on television as ingrates and forced them to recant. BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2022 Instead, an aide to Ramzan Kadyrov, the autocrat who runs Chechnya, berated them at length on television as ingrates and forced them to recant. New York Times, 10 July 2022 Experts say such measures are not likely to be enough to convince the autocrat to turn around his tanks. Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 The protagonist is a goat named Destiny, an exile returning to the fictional African nation of Jidada after the ouster of its longtime autocrat, Old Horse (explicitly modelled on Robert Mugabe), by a new authoritarian, called the Savior. The New Yorker, 2 May 2022 But critics think of him as something else: an autocrat, a diss only matched by the facts. Los Angeles Times, 11 July 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 See More
Sophie Hanson, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Aug. 2022 Vucic’s behavior as that of an autocrat who shouldn’t be appeased. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 31 July 2022 Instead, an aide to Ramzan Kadyrov, the autocrat who runs Chechnya, berated them at length on television as ingrates and forced them to recant. BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2022 Instead, an aide to Ramzan Kadyrov, the autocrat who runs Chechnya, berated them at length on television as ingrates and forced them to recant. New York Times, 10 July 2022 Experts say such measures are not likely to be enough to convince the autocrat to turn around his tanks. Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 The protagonist is a goat named Destiny, an exile returning to the fictional African nation of Jidada after the ouster of its longtime autocrat, Old Horse (explicitly modelled on Robert Mugabe), by a new authoritarian, called the Savior. The New Yorker, 2 May 2022 But critics think of him as something else: an autocrat, a diss only matched by the facts. Los Angeles Times, 11 July 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 See More Word History
Etymology
French autocrate, from Greek autokratēs ruling by oneself, absolute, from aut- + -kratēs ruling — more at -crat
First Known Use
1762, in the meaning defined at sense 1
autocrat
noun
as in ruler
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- ruler
- monarch
- sovereign
- emperor
- potentate
- king
- queen
- empress
- overlord
- tyrant
- prince
- sovran
- dictator
- sultan
- despot
- satrap
- czar
- emir
- tsar
- shah
- authoritarian
- lord
- kaiser
- khedive
- mogul
- suzerain
- khan
- führer
- tzar
- mikado
- Caesar
- amir
- ameer
- fuehrer
- coruler
- paramount
- monocrat
- Big Brother