despotic C2+ Topic:Describing People Also spelled despotical US /dɪˈspɑtɪk/ UK /dɪˈspɒtɪk/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj exercising absolute power in a cruel or oppressive way The province groaned under a despotic and capricious governor. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · exercising absolute power... tyrannicalautocraticdictatorialoppressiveauthoritariantyrannousabsolute ↔ Opposites democraticliberalegalitarianlenient Word family Forms despotically Derived forms despotically Related forms despotdespotism Etymology AI details From Medieval Latin despoticus, from Ancient Greek despotikos, from despotes ('master, lord'), from Proto-Indo-European *dems-pótis ('master of the house'). despotikos Ancient Greek despotes Ancient Greek *dems-pótis Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # despotic **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /dɪˈspɑtɪk/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪˈspɒtɪk/ ## Meanings 1. exercising absolute power in a cruel or oppressive way ## Examples - The province groaned under a despotic and capricious governor. ## Synonyms - tyrannical - autocratic - dictatorial - oppressive - authoritarian - tyrannous - absolute ## Antonyms - democratic - liberal - egalitarian - lenient ## Derived Forms - despotically ## Related Forms - despot - despotism ## Roots and Affixes - Root: despotikos - Root: despotes - Root: *dems-pótis ## Etymology From Medieval Latin despoticus, from Ancient Greek despotikos, from despotes ('master, lord'), from Proto-Indo-European *dems-pótis ('master of the house'). ## AI Etymology Despotic comes from Medieval Latin despoticus, from Ancient Greek despotikos, from despotes ('master, lord'), from Proto-Indo-European *dems-pótis ('master of the house'). The etymological trail includes Ancient Greek despotikos, Ancient Greek despotes, and Proto-Indo-European *dems-pótis. As an adjective, despotic describes what is exercising absolute power in a cruel or oppressive way. The same family is visible in derived forms such as despotically and related forms such as despot and despotism. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown