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tyranny

Syllabification: (tyr·an·ny)
Pronunciation: /ˈtirənē/
Translate tyranny | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tyranny

noun (plural tyrannies)

  • cruel and oppressive government or rule:people who survive war and escape tyranny the removal of the regime may be the end of a tyranny
  • a nation under cruel and oppressive government.
  • cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control:she resented his rages and his tyranny figurativethe tyranny of the nine-to-five day his father’s tyrannies
  • (especially in ancient Greece) rule by one who has absolute power without legal right.

Derivatives

tyrannous

Pronunciation: /-nəs/
adjective

tyrannously

Pronunciation: /-nəslē/
adverb

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French tyrannie, from late Latin tyrannia, from Latin turannus (see tyrant)

Spell tyranny and the related word tyrannical with one r and a double n.

tyranny in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tyranny in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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