Tyranny

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tyranny \Tyr"an*ny\ (t[i^]r"an*n[y^]), n. [OE. tirannye, OF.
     tirannie, F. tyrannie; cf. It. tirannia; Gr. tyranni`a,
     tyranni`s, L. tyrannis. See {Tyrant}.]
     1. The government or authority of a tyrant; a country
        governed by an absolute ruler; hence, arbitrary or
        despotic exercise of power; exercise of power over


        subjects and others with a rigor not authorized by law or
        justice, or not requisite for the purposes of government.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              "Sir," would he [Seneca] say, "an emperor mote need
              Be virtuous and hate tyranny."        --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Cruel government or discipline; as, the tyranny of a
        schoolmaster.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Severity; rigor; inclemency.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The tyranny of the open night's too rough
              For nature to endure.                 --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tyranny
       n 1: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute
            dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or
            opposition etc.) [syn: {dictatorship}, {absolutism}, {authoritarianism},
             {Caesarism}, {despotism}, {monocracy}, {one-man rule},
            {shogunate}, {Stalinism}, {totalitarianism}]
       2: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {absolutism},
           {despotism}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  125 Moby Thesaurus words for "tyranny":
     Caesarism, Nazism, Stalinism, absolute monarchy, absolutism,
     arbitrariness, argumentum baculinum, aristocracy, autarchy,
     authoritarianism, autocracy, autonomy, benevolent despotism,
     big battalions, big stick, bond service, bondage, brute force,
     captivity, coalition government, colonialism, commonwealth,
     constitutional government, constitutional monarchy, control,
     czarism, debt slavery, democracy, deprivation of freedom,
     despotism, dictatorship, disenfranchisement, disfranchisement,
     domination, domineering, dominion rule, duarchy, duumvirate,
     dyarchy, enslavement, enthrallment, fascism, federal government,
     federation, feudal system, feudalism, feudality, force,
     garrison state, gerontocracy, heavy hand, helotism, helotry,
     heteronomy, hierarchy, hierocracy, high hand, home rule,
     indentureship, iron boot, iron hand, iron heel, kaiserism,
     limited monarchy, main force, martial law, meritocracy, militarism,
     military government, mob rule, mobocracy, monarchy, monocracy,
     naked force, neocolonialism, ochlocracy, oligarchy, one-man rule,
     one-party rule, oppression, pantisocracy, paternalism,
     patriarchate, patriarchy, peonage, physical force, police state,
     pure democracy, regency, reign of terror, representative democracy,
     representative government, republic, restraint, rule of might,
     self-determination, self-government, serfdom, serfhood, servility,
     servitude, slavery, social democracy, steamroller, stratocracy,
     subjection, subjugation, suppression, technocracy, terrorism,
     thearchy, theocracy, thought control, thrall, thralldom,
     totalitarian government, totalitarian regime, totalitarianism,
     totality, triarchy, triumvirate, ultima ratio, vassalage,
     villenage, welfare state
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  TYRANNY, government. The violation of those laws which regulate the division 
  and the exercises of the sovereign power of the state. It is a violation of 
  its constitution.