Link Centre Dictionary

despotic

des·po·tic

UK/disˈpɒt.ɪk/ US/dɛsˈpɒt.ɪk/ uncommon

adjective

1.

belonging to or having the characteristics of a despot

Synonyms
2.

ruled by or characteristic of a despot

  • “moved from a feudal to a despotic order”
  • “his administration was arrogant and despotic”
3.

characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty

  • “an authoritarian regime”
  • “autocratic government”
  • “despotic rulers”
  • “a dictatorial rule that lasted for the duration of the war”
  • “a tyrannical government”

Origin

From Ancient Greek δεσποτικός (despotikós) via French despotique, equivalent to despot + -ic.

Related words

Word family

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.