tyrant
/ˈtaɪɹənt/ noun, adjective, verb
Forms tyrants tyranting tyranted tyran
- noun (historical, Ancient Greece) A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.
- noun (obsolete) Any monarch or governor.
- noun A despot; a ruler who governs unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
- noun (by extension) Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
- noun (by extension) A villain; a person or thing who uses strength or violence to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
- noun The tyrant birds, members of the family Tyrannidae, which often fight or drive off other birds which approach their nests.
- adjective (uncommon) Tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant.
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To act like a tyrant; to be tyrannical.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To tyrannize.
Synonyms
archon basileus aisymnetes autocrat dictator despot martinet tyrant bird tyrant flycatcher tyrant shrike king bird bee martin
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An absolute ruler; a sovereign unrestrained by law or constitution; a usurper of sovereignty.
- noun Specifically, a monarch, or other ruler or master, who uses power to oppress his subjects; a person who exercises unlawful authority, or lawful authority in an unlawful manner; one who by taxation, injustice, or cruel punishment, or the demand of unreasonable services, imposes burdens and hardships on those under his control, which law and humanity do not authorize, or which the purposes of government do not require; a cruel master; an oppressor. "This false tyrant, this Nero." Chaucer.
- verb To act like a tyrant; to play the tyrant; to tyrannical. [Obs.]
- verb Curdled milk. [India]
Etymology [OE. tirant, tiraunt, tyraunt, OF. tiran, tirant (probably from confusion with the p. pr. of verbs), F. tyran, L. tyrannus, Gr. 1. An absolute ruler; a sovereign unrestrained by law or constitution; a usurper of sovereignty. Note: Free governments [in Greece]
Etymology [Tamil tayir.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tyrant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details