despotism – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
despotism
n.
tyranny, absolute power and control; dictatorship, rule of a despot
Despotism
Despotism is a form of
government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an
autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an
oligarchy. The word
despotism means to "rule in the fashion of a despot" and does not necessarily require a singular "despot", an individual.
despotism
Noun
1. dominance through threat of punishment and violence
(synonym) absolutism, tyranny
(hypernym) dominance, ascendance, ascendence, ascendancy, ascendency, control
2. a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
(synonym) dictatorship, absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalitarianism, tyranny
(hypernym) autocracy, autarchy
(hyponym) police state
Despotism
(n.)
The power, spirit, or principles of a despot; absolute control over others; tyrannical sway; tyranny.
(n.)
A government which is directed by a despot; a despotic monarchy; absolutism; autocracy.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
Despot, Despotism
DESPOT - Master and supreme lord; it is synonymous with monarch, but as it is usually employed, it signifies a tyrant. In some states, despot is the title given to the sovereign, as king is given in others.
DESPOTISM - That abuse of government, where the sovereign power is not divided, but united in the hands of a single man, whatever may be his official title. It is not, properly, a form of government.
This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.
