tyranny

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈtərəni/ See IPA manual

Freq #12470

Meanings

1

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

The people rose up against years of tyranny and oppression.
2

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

The revolution replaced the old tyranny with an elected assembly.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · cruel and unjust use of... absolutism despotism

More autocracy dictatorshiptyranthood

Word family

Forms tyrannies

Derived forms anarcho-tyrannytyrannical

Related forms autocracy monarchy tyrant

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

tyranny of custom
the restrictive influence of habits or conventions treated as unquestionable

Fixed expression

Proverbs (1)

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No taxation without representation
Matching variant: Taxation without representation is tyranny

Etymology

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”).

tirannye Middle English tyrannie Old French tyrannia la-med τυραννία Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# tyranny

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtərəni/
**Frequency rank:** 12470

## Meanings
1. Cruel and unjust use of power by a ruler or government.
2. A government run by a single ruler who has total power.

## Examples
- The people rose up against years of tyranny and oppression.
- The revolution replaced the old tyranny with an elected assembly.

## Synonyms
- autocracy
- despotism
- dictatorship
- tyranthood

## Derived Forms
- anarcho-tyranny
- tyrannical

## Related Forms
- autocracy
- monarchy
- tyrant

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tirannye
- Root: tyrannie
- Root: tyrannia
- Root: τυραννία

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Tyranny is 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”). The historical line also includes Middle English tirannye, Old French tyrannie, la-med tyrannia, Ancient Greek τυραννία. In present-day use, it can mean cruel and unjust use of power by a ruler or government, or a government run by a single ruler who has total power. Derived formations include anarcho-tyranny, tyrannical.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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