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What makes someone a tyrant?
A glance at the comments posted in response to our definition of tyrant illustrate two things: the word has a fairly wide spectrum of meaning, and many political rulers of late (regardless of party and action) are thought by some to merit this description. The word is often now found used as a generalized term of reproach ("he was a real tyrant in the kitchen"), and also with more specific denotation ("the tyrant suspended the country’s judicial code"). The definitions we give for words match, as best as possible, the manner in which these words are used. We cannot offer judgment on whether or not any specific individual is or is not a tyrant.
Synonyms
Examples of tyrant in a Sentence
Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2024
The New Yorker and the Times Magazine, GQ, Vogue, Esquire—all were run by aloof tyrants, typically described as legendary, who made every call before a small audience of tremulous editors.
—Christopher Carroll, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s new book On Freedom explains how institutions of government can protect human rights while his 2017 book On Tyranny explains how demagogues succeed in eroding those pillars of society to be replaced by a tyrant.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Things could change: the robber barons of the Gilded Age were eventually brought down; twentieth-century industrial tyrants were, over time, shamed into retreat.
—Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tyrant 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tyrant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tyrant
Cite this Entry
“Tyrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyrant. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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tyrant
noun
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