tyranny

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Cruel and unjust use of power by a ruler or government.

   The people rose up against years of tyranny and oppression.

2. 2
   noun

   A government run by a single ruler who has total power.

   The revolution replaced the old tyranny with an elected assembly.

Inherited from Middle English tirannye, from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, tyrania, from Ancient Greek τυραννία (turannía, “tyranny”), from τύραννος (túrannos, “lord, master, sovereign, tyrant”).

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