tyrant
/ˈtaɪɹənt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.
noun
Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
noun
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.
adj
Tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant.
Example Sentences
- "To proue him Tyrant, this reason may suffice, That Henry liueth still."
- "The reappearance of tyranny [in the 4th century BC] had many reasons... one of the main causes was the development of antagonism between rich and poor; tyrants came to power exploiting a social and political imbalance within the state."
- "Ancient Greek tyrannies appeared once more in great numbers with the breakdown of the polis in the period from the fourth to the second centuries [BC]. These later tyrannies tended to rely on a more narrow class base and to use a brutal military rule, and thus writers could use the words tyrant and tyranny, with their modern connotations of evil and cruelty, to describe them accurately."
- "Cassius... set tyrants over all Syria."
- "Tyrannes...be but Gods scourges which he will cast into the fyre when he hath done with them."
- "I am the Sonne of Marcus Cato, hoe. A Foe to Tyrants, and my Countries Friend."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtaɪɹənt/
- British English: /ˈtaɪɹənt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
archon
basileus
aisymnetes
autocrat
dictator
despot
martinet
tyrant bird
tyrant flycatcher
tyrant shrike
king bird
bee martin