despot

[des-puht, -pot]

noun

1. a king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited power; autocrat.

2. any tyrant or oppressor.

3. History/Historical.,  an honorary title applied to a Byzantine emperor, afterward to members of his family, and later to Byzantine vassal rulers and governors.

despot

/ dɛsˈpɒtɪk, ˈdɛspɒt /

noun

1. an absolute or tyrannical ruler; autocrat or tyrant

2. any person in power who acts tyrannically

3. a title borne by numerous persons of rank in the later Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires

   the despot of Servia

Other Word Forms

• despotically adverb
• despotic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of despot¹

1555–65; < Greek despótēs master < *dems-pot- presumably, “master of the house,” equivalent to *dems-, akin to dómos house + pot-, base of pósis husband, spouse; hospodar, host ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of despot¹

C16: from Medieval Latin despota, from Greek despotēs lord, master; related to Latin domus house

Example Sentences

We have propped up puppets and despots and taken down democratically elected governments with the regularity of the seasons.

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We aren’t in danger of being taken over by a despot.

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Our America is not ruled by a petty, vindictive despot wannabe with an outrageous history of criminal and socially abhorrent behavior who imagines he is king.

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Equally, they are tools for establishing superstitions, glorifying despots and dignifying atrocity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Uzbek despot distinguished himself by “boiling his enemies, slaughtering his poverty-stricken people when they protest, and conscripting armies of children for slave labour,” according to The Guardian.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• autocrat 
• oppressor 
• tyrant