autocracy

noun

au·​toc·​ra·​cy ȯ-ˈtä-krə-sē 

plural autocracies

1

: the authority or rule of an autocrat

2

: government in which one person possesses unlimited power

3

: a community or state governed by autocracy

Synonyms

• absolutism
• autarchy
• authoritarianism
• Caesarism
• czarism
• tsarism
• tzarism
• despotism
• dictatorship
• totalism
• totalitarianism
• tyranny

Examples of autocracy in a Sentence

the Magna Carta is historically important because it signified the British rejection of autocracy and constituted the first formal restraining of the power of the monarch

Recent Examples on the Web

To start a new movement, Tunisia’s civil society and its politicians must rebuild trust with the people and convince them, fundamentally, that democracy is more likely than autocracy to bring about the economic growth and stability the country needs. —Sarah E. Yerkes, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024

Yet this cooperation masks divisions among the world’s major autocracies. —Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2024

Democracies, accordingly, spend more on health than autocracies do, and are likely to preserve access to care even when the economy tanks. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024

But Tunisians will have little recourse after Kais Saied’s near-certain—and certainly illegitimate—reelection this October entrenches Tunisia’s autocracy and marks the definitive end of the Arab Spring’s last surviving democratic experiment. —Ian Bremmer, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "self-control," borrowed from Greek autokrateîa "self-control, power over oneself," from autokratḗs "ruling by itself (of a mind), with sole authority (for a task)" + -ia -y entry 2 — more at autocrat

Note: The word acquired the present meaning under the influence of Latin autocratōr (from about the fifth century on) and Greek autokrátōr, meaning "with sole authority," and later by association with autocrat. See note at autocrat.

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

autocracy

noun

au·​toc·​ra·​cy ȯ-ˈtäk-rə-sē 

plural autocracies

: government in which one person has unlimited power