tyrannical
adjective
ty·ran·ni·cal
tə-ˈra-ni-kəl 
tī-
variants
or less commonly tyrannic
tə-ˈra-nik
tī-
Synonyms
Examples of tyrannical in a Sentence
Everyone was afraid of their overbearing and tyrannical boss.
a tyrannical ruler whose terrible reign was marked by unceasing violence
Recent Examples on the Web
The incident became a rallying cry for right-wing activists and militiamen, who see themselves as locked in conflict with a tyrannical regime.
—
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
The film, which follows a mysterious stranger who provides hope for survival to the denizens on a distant moon amid threats by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, is the first in a two-part saga.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024
Barrino is both meek and powerful as Celie, a woman who silently endures her husband Mister’s abuse and tyrannical rule of their household until jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) opens her eyes to the possibilities of a life filled with love.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023
She was raised in Kenwood, Louisiana by James Spears, a tyrannical alcoholic father who had been brutalized by his father, and whose own mother ended her life at the grave of his infant brother after being institutionalized against her will.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
That rhetoric has not faded almost two years later, with Ukraine’s leaders and backers championing Kyiv as a bulwark for the free world against a tyrannical menace that knows no bounds.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Ricki, in 2024, has left her job at her tyrannical family’s chain of funeral parlors and started a flower shop in a Harlem brownstone.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Since October 2023, Biden has rightly framed the Israel-Hamas war as a struggle between a flawed democracy and a tyrannical enemy seeking its destruction.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The right to bear arms against a tyrannical government is a fundamental right.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
The film, which follows a mysterious stranger who provides hope for survival to the denizens on a distant moon amid threats by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, is the first in a two-part saga.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024
Barrino is both meek and powerful as Celie, a woman who silently endures her husband Mister’s abuse and tyrannical rule of their household until jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) opens her eyes to the possibilities of a life filled with love.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023
She was raised in Kenwood, Louisiana by James Spears, a tyrannical alcoholic father who had been brutalized by his father, and whose own mother ended her life at the grave of his infant brother after being institutionalized against her will.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
That rhetoric has not faded almost two years later, with Ukraine’s leaders and backers championing Kyiv as a bulwark for the free world against a tyrannical menace that knows no bounds.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
Ricki, in 2024, has left her job at her tyrannical family’s chain of funeral parlors and started a flower shop in a Harlem brownstone.
—Olivia Waite, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Since October 2023, Biden has rightly framed the Israel-Hamas war as a struggle between a flawed democracy and a tyrannical enemy seeking its destruction.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The right to bear arms against a tyrannical government is a fundamental right.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tyrannical.' 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 tyrannical
Cite this Entry
“Tyrannical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyrannical. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tyrannical
adjective
ty·ran·ni·cal
tə-ˈran-i-kəl
tī-
variants
also tyrannic
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a tyrant or tyranny
a tyrannical ruler
tyrannical rule
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