Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Tyrannical |
TyrannicalAdjective1. Of or relating to or associated with or resembling a dictatorship; "tyrannical suppression of liberty". 2. Marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior; "the oppressive government"; "oppressive laws"; "a tyrannical parent"; "tyrannous disregard of human rights". 3. Characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty; "an authoritarian regime"; "autocratic government"; "despotic rulers"; "a dictatorial rule that lasted for the duration of the war"; "a tyrannical government". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "tyrannical" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
Synonyms: TyrannicalSynonyms: authoritarian (adj), autocratic (adj), despotic (adj), dictatorial (adj), oppressive (adj), tyrannic (adj), tyrannous (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Severity | Adjective: severe; strict, hard, harsh, dour, rigid, stiff, stern, rigorous, uncompromising, exacting, exigent, exigeant, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, austere, hard-headed, hard-nosed, hard-shell, relentless, Spartan, Draconian, stringent, strait-laced, searching, unsparing, iron-handed, peremptory, absolute, positive, arbitrary, imperative; coercive; tyrannical, extortionate, grinding, withering, oppressive, inquisitorial; inclement; (ruthless) a; cruel; (malevolent); haughty, arrogant; precisian. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Tyrannical |
| English words defined with "tyrannical": authoritarian, autocratic ♦ despotic, dictatorial ♦ Moloch ♦ oppressive ♦ Tiberius, Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus, Tyrannish, tyrannous. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "tyrannical": Command ♦ God. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "tyrannical": Tyrannish. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | They think the Latvians on the verge of overthrowing their tyrannical overlords. (Billion Dollar Brain; writing credit: Len Deighton; John McGrath) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Blaise Pascal | Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical. |
Henry George | The methods by which a trade union can alone act, are necessarily destructive; its organization is necessarily tyrannical. |
Thomas Jefferson | To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. |
| That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | They had neither felt the oppression of tyrannical dominion, nor did the fashion of the age, nor their possessions, or way of living, (which afforded little matter for covetousness or ambition) give them any reason to apprehend or provide against it; and therefore it is no wonder they put themselves into such a frame of government, as was not only, as I said, most obvious and simple, but also best suited to their present state and condition; which stood more in need of defence against foreign invasions and injuries, than of multiplicity of laws. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Tyrannical" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 97.18% of the time. "Tyrannical" is used about 71 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 97.18% | 69 | 40,280 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.82% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 71 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Language | Translations for "tyrannical"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | tiranik (oppressive, tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مستبد (absolute, despot, despotic, dictatorial, domineering, highhanded, imperious, masterful), إستبدادي (absolute, arbitrary, autocratic, dictatorial, imperial, totalitarian, tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | тираничен (arbitrary, sledgehammer, tyrannous), деспотичен (bossy, despotic, domineering, heavy-handed, masterful, peremptory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 虐 (oppressive), 暴虐 (brutal), 强横. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | tyranský (bullying, despotic, heavy-handed, oppressive, tyrannous), panovaèný (authoritarian, high handed, imperious, masterful, possessive), násilnický (outrageous, violent), despotický (arbitrary, despotic, oppressive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | وابسته بفرمانروای ظالم , ستمگرانه (Tyrannous), ظالمانه (Burdensome, Outrageous, Tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | tyrannimainen, hirmuvaltainen (despotic, terroristic). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | tyrannique (tyrannized, tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | tyrannisch (bullying, domineering, oppressive, tyrannicly, tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | σατραπικόσ (satrapal, tyrannic), τυραννικόσ (compulsive, despotic, domineering, tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | עריצי (ruthless), רו" י (despotic, dictatorial, imperious, totalitarian). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | zsarnoki (autocratic, autocratical, despotic, heavy-handed, imperious, masterful, procrustean, tyrannous), kegyetlen (atrocious, bloody, brutal, brutish, cruel, dispiteous, felon, ferocious, grim, hard, heinous, inhuman, insensate, merciless, pitiless, ruthless, sanguinary, savage, scathing, tigerish). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | lalim (cruel, despotic). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | tirannico (tyrannous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | tranlaasagh (despot, despotic, oppress, oppressive, oppressiveness, oppressor, persecute, persecutor, tyrannize, tyrannous, tyrant). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | yrannicaltay tirânico (arbitrary, bully, domineering, oppressive, tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) tiranic (cruel, despotic, despotically, domineering, heavy-handed, oppressive, severe, tyrannous). (various references) тиранический (tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) tiranski (despotic, oppressive, tyrannous), despotski (despotic, oppressive). (various references) tiránico (oppressive, tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) tyrannisk (domineering, tyrannous). (various references) zalim (arbitrary, atrocious, bloody minded, brutal, cruel, cutthroat, daemon, demon, draconian, draconic, fell, felon, fiendish, flinty, grim, heavy, heavy-handed, ill natured, inhuman, miscreant, ogre, oppressive, oppressor, outrageous, persecutor, sanguinary, savage, stony, truculent, tyrannic), gaddarca (atrocious, cruelly, inhumanly, tyrannic), acımasız (atrocious, brutal, coldhearted, cruel, cutthroat, dead, despot, ferocious, fiendish, flinty, grim, hard-hearted, harsh, implacable, inclement, inexorable, inhumane, merciless, outrageous, pitiless, relentless, ruthless, slashing, stern, truculent, tyrannic, tyrannous, unmerciful, unpitied, unrelenting, without remorse). (various references) zalym. (various references) тиранічний (despotic, despotical, satrapic, satrapical, tyrannic, tyrannous), деспотичний (arbitrary, autocratic, autocratical, despotic, despotical, domineering, imperious, oppressive, satrapic, satrapical, tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) chuyên chế (despotic, totalitarian, tyrannic, tyrannous), bạo ngược (domineering, tyrannic, tyrannous). (various references) gormesol (aggressive, arbitrary, oppressive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "tyrannical": tyrannically, tyrannicalness, tyrannicalnesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Tyrannical" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: tryannical, tyannical, tyranical, tyrannic, Tyrannidae, tyrranical. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "tyrannical" (pronounced tera"nikul) |
| 6 | -a" n i k u l | botanical, electromechanical, mechanical, puritanical. |
| 5 | -n i k u l | conical, cynical, ecumenical, ethnical, galenical, ironical, nontechnical, preclinical, rabbinical, technical. |
| 4 | -i k u l | acoustical, alphabetical, analytical, antithetical, apolitical, archaeological, archeological, astrological, astronautical, astronomical, asymmetrical, atypical, autobiographical, bicycle, biographical, biological, biomedical, biotechnological, categorical, cervical, chronological, classical, comical, critical, cubicle, cyclical, cylindrical, dermatological, diabolical, dialectical, ecclesiastical, ecological, economical, egotistical, electrical, electrochemical, elliptical, empirical, encyclical, epidemiological, eschatological, ethical, evangelical, fanatical, geographical, geological, geometrical, geopolitical, graphical, gynecological, helical, heretical, historical, hypercritical, hypocritical, hysterical, icicle, identical, ideological, illogical, immunological, inimical, lackadaisical, lexical, liturgical, logical, logistical, lyrical, magical, mathematical, metallurgical, metaphorical, metaphysical, methodological, metrical, morphological, musical, mystical, mythological, neoclassical, neurological, nonelectrical, nonpolitical, nonsensical, nonsurgical, ontological, optical, ornithological, paradoxical, pathological, pedagogical, periodical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, pharmacological, philosophical, phonological, physical, physiological, popsicle, problematical, prototypical, psychical, psychological, radiological, rhetorical, sabbatical, semiclassical, semicylindrical, semitropical, serological, sociological, spherical, statistical, stereotypical, strategical, surgical, symmetrical, tactical, technological, teleological, testicle, theatrical, theological, theoretical, topical, toxicological, tricycle, tropical, typographical, umbilical, uncritical, uneconomical, unethical, untypical, vehicle, vertical, viatical, virological, whimsical, zoological. |
| 3 | -k u l | aeronautical, agrochemical, allegorical, anarchical, anatomical, ankle, anthropological, article, barnacle, biblical, bifocal, biochemical, brickle, buckle, cackle, chemical, Chronicle, chuckle, circle, clavicle, clerical, clinical, commonsensical, coracle, cortical, crackle, cuticle, cycle, debacle, diacritical, domical, ducal, encircle, epochal, equivocal, etymological, farcical, fecal, fickle, fiscal, focal, follicle, freckle, geophysical, gonococcal, grackle, grammatical, granduncle, hackle, heckle, heterocercal, hierarchical, honeysuckle, Huckle, hypothetical, impractical, jackal, knuckle, local, maniacal, matriarchal, medical, meikle, meteorological, methodical, Mickle, miracle, monocle, motorcycle, muckle, mythical, nautical, nickel, Nickle, Nicol, numerical, obstacle, Oracle, oratorical, particle, patriarchal, photochemical, pickle, pinnacle, polemical, political, pontifical, practical, pumpernickel, quizzical, radical, ramshackle, rankle, rascal, receptacle, reciprocal, recycle, ruckle, runkle, satirical, shackle, shekel, sickle, skeptical, Sokol, sparkle, speckle, spectacle, sprinkle, stickle, suckle, tabernacle, tackle, tentacle, tickle, tinkle, trickle, twinkle, typical, uncle, unequivocal, unicycle, unshackle, vocal, Winkle, wrinkle. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-c-i-l-n-n-r-t-y" | |
-1 letter: carnality. | |
-2 letters: alacrity, analytic, tyrannic. | |
-3 letters: actinal, anality, anticar, anticly, cannily, cantina, carinal, clarity, cranial, lactary, laniary, riantly. | |
-4 letters: acinar, alanin, antiar, antral, arnica, artily, atrial, cairny, canary, carina, carlin, carnal, catlin, citral, crania, cranny, cyanin, incant, lariat, latria, litany, narial, racial, racily, ratany, ratlin, rictal, tannic, tarnal, tincal, trinal, yantra. | |
-5 letters: acari, actin, alant. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-c-i-l-n-n-r-t-y" | |
+2 letters: tyrannically. | |
+3 letters: carbonylation, connaturality. | |
+4 letters: carbonylations, intracranially, tyrannicalness, unromantically. | |
+5 letters: interchangeably, necromantically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Historic 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
