despotism meaning

UK US /ˈdɛspətɪzəm/ 4 syllables

despotism (noun): dominance through threat of punishment and violence.

despotism has 2 meanings in this dictionary.

despotism as a noun

  1. dominance through threat of punishment and violence

    Synonyms: absolutism, tyranny

    Type of: dominance

  2. a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

    Synonyms: dictatorship, absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalitarianism, tyranny

    Type of: autocracy

    Kinds: police state

How to pronounce despotism

despotism is pronounced /ˈdɛspətɪzəm/ in American English. It has 4 syllables, with the stress on the first syllable.

Scrabble score: 14 (letter breakdown)

Word lists: words starting with DE · words ending in SM · 9-letter words

More about despotism on Wikipedia.