tyrant

B2 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled tyrannise

US /ˈtaɪrənt/ UK /ˈtaɪɹənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #11202

Meanings

1

noun
A ruler who uses power in a cruel and unjust way.

The country suffered for decades under a brutal tyrant.
2

noun
Any person who treats others harshly and cruelly by abusing their power.

Their boss was a tyrant who shouted at everyone.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a ruler who uses power in a... despot dictatorautocrat

2 noun · any person who treats... martinet

Word family

Forms tyrannizetyrants

Derived forms chat-tyrantshrike-tyranttit-tyranttody-tyranttyrancytyrant-airtyrant-birdtyrant-chattyrant-crafttyrant-fishtyrant-hatertyrant-hating

Related forms tyrannesstyrannicaltyrannicidetyrannizetyrannous tyrannytyrantrytyrantship

Etymology

From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.

tyraunt Middle English tyrant Old French tyrannus Latin τύραννος Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

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# tyrant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtaɪrənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtaɪɹənt/
**Frequency rank:** 11202

## Meanings
1. A ruler who uses power in a cruel and unjust way.
2. Any person who treats others harshly and cruelly by abusing their power.

## Examples
- The country suffered for decades under a brutal tyrant.
- Their boss was a tyrant who shouted at everyone.

## Derived Forms
- chat-tyrant
- shrike-tyrant
- tit-tyrant
- tody-tyrant
- tyrancy
- tyrant-air
- tyrant-bird
- tyrant-chat
- tyrant-craft
- tyrant-fish
- tyrant-hater
- tyrant-hating

## Related Forms
- tyranness
- tyrannical
- tyrannicide
- tyrannize
- tyrannous
- tyranny
- tyrantry
- tyrantship

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tyraunt
- Root: tyrant
- Root: tyrannus
- Root: τύραννος

## Etymology
From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.

## AI Etymology
Tyrant is from Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin. In present-day use, it can mean a ruler who uses power in a cruel and unjust way, or any person who treats others harshly and cruelly by abusing their power.

## Topics
- People & Society

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tyrant

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