despot
noun
, -ˌspät\
Definition of despot
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Synonyms for despot
Synonyms
caesar, dictator, führer (or fuehrer), oppressor, pharaoh, strongman, tyrannizer, tyrant
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Examples of despot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mugabe epitomized the difficulties of trying to revive the democratic dream after long-running despots and populists are ousted. — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, "Robert Mugabe and the Fate of Democracy in Africa," 9 Sep. 2019 After all, other than Yanukovich, Manafort had worked for notorious Filipino strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Zairian despot Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angolan guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi, accounting for an awful lot of negative baggage. — Sam Patten, WIRED, "Kostya and Me: How Sam Patten Got Ensnared in Mueller’s Probe," 14 Aug. 2019 Hence his admiration for foreign despots, and his infantile delight in his own bad manners. — George F. Will, The Denver Post, "George Will: Trump doesn’t just pollute the social environment. He is the environment.," 6 Aug. 2019 Yet unlike in Sudan, where protests forced out a veteran despot, Omar al-Bashir, there are few young folk left in Eritrea. — The Economist, "Eritrea’s gulag state is crumbling," 11 July 2019 Politicians and businessmen affiliated with the group have met to pray and parlay with the likes of the late Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, Indonesian despot Suharto and Haitian dictator Papa Doc Duvalier, Sharlet said. — NBC News, "Secretive Christian group at heart of D.C. politics ready for its close-up," 9 Aug. 2019 Hence his admiration for foreign despots, and his infantile delight in his own bad manners. — George F. Will, The Mercury News, "Will: Trump doesn’t just pollute the social environment. He is the environment," 7 Aug. 2019 Vladimir Putin, the cunning despot and former KGB agent,... — Gregg Opelka, WSJ, "Putin’s Less-Than-Epic Mueller Retort," 7 May 2019 Large-scale military parades these days evoke the totalitarian aesthetic of North Korea or the Soviet Union, where aging despots would demonstrate the perseverance of their regimes to the world. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Tanks, But No Tanks," 4 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'despot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for despot
despot
noun
English Language Learners Definition of despot
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despot
noun
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