 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Tyranny \Tyr"an*ny\ (t[i^]r"an*n[y^]), noun [OE. tirannye, OF. tirannie, F. tyrannie; cf. It. tirannia; Gr. tyranni'a, tyranni's, L. tyrannis. See {Tyrant}.]
1. The government or authority of a tyrant; a country governed by an absolute ruler; hence, arbitrary or despotic exercise of power; exercise of power over subjects and others with a rigor not authorized by law or justice, or not requisite for the purposes of government.
''Sir,'' would he [Seneca] say, ''an emperor mote need Be virtuous and hate tyranny.'' --Chaucer.
2. Cruel government or discipline; as, the tyranny of a schoolmaster.
3. Severity; rigor; inclemency.
The tyranny of the open night's too rough For nature to endure. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
tyranny
noun
1: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.) [syn: {dictatorship}, {absolutism}, {authoritarianism}, {Caesarism}, {despotism}, {monocracy}, {one-man rule}, {shogunate}, {Stalinism}, {totalitarianism}]
2: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {absolutism}, {despotism}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
125 Moby Thesaurus words for "tyranny": Caesarism, Nazism, Stalinism, absolute monarchy, absolutism, arbitrariness, argumentum baculinum, aristocracy, autarchy, authoritarianism, autocracy, autonomy, benevolent despotism, big battalions, big stick, bond service, bondage, brute force, captivity, coalition government, colonialism, commonwealth, constitutional government, constitutional monarchy, control, czarism, debt slavery, democracy, deprivation of freedom, despotism, dictatorship, disenfranchisement, disfranchisement, domination, domineering, dominion rule, duarchy, duumvirate, dyarchy, enslavement, enthrallment, fascism, federal government, federation, feudal system, feudalism, feudality, force, garrison state, gerontocracy, heavy hand, helotism, helotry, heteronomy, hierarchy, hierocracy, high hand, home rule, indentureship, iron boot, iron hand, iron heel, kaiserism, limited monarchy, main force, martial law, meritocracy, militarism, military government, mob rule, mobocracy, monarchy, monocracy, naked force, neocolonialism, ochlocracy, oligarchy, one-man rule, one-party rule, oppression, pantisocracy, paternalism, patriarchate, patriarchy, peonage, physical force, police state, pure democracy, regency, reign of terror, representative democracy, representative government, republic, restraint, rule of might, self-determination, self-government, serfdom, serfhood, servility, servitude, slavery, social democracy, steamroller, stratocracy, subjection, subjugation, suppression, technocracy, terrorism, thearchy, theocracy, thought control, thrall, thralldom, totalitarian government, totalitarian regime, totalitarianism, totality, triarchy, triumvirate, ultima ratio, vassalage, villenage, welfare state
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |