Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tyrannical

/təˈrænəkəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables: tyran-ni-cal
IPA: /təˈrænəkəl/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, or relating to tyranny or a tyrant.

adj

Despotic, oppressive, or authoritarian.

Example Sentences

"a tyrannical regime"
"tyrannical rulers"
"She met more than a quarter of all the American presidents who have ever lived, five popes, hundreds of national leaders, from the saintly, such as Nelson Mandela, to the tyrannical, including Robert Mugabe and Nicolae Ceausescu[…]"

Etymology

From Latin tyrannicus + -al; ultimately from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos) (absolute ruler, despot).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: tyrannicus, τύραννος

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /təˈrænəkəl/

Inflected Forms

more tyrannical (comparative) most tyrannical (superlative) tyrannic (alternative)

Derived Forms

anarchotyrannical nontyrannical pretyrannical tyrannically tyrannicalness ultratyrannical untyrannical

Phrases

tyrannical sadism

Synonyms

bossy authoritarian autocratic dictatorial despotic tyrannic oppressive tyrannous

Rhymes With

mechanical botanical puritanical electromechanical

Questions

How do you pronounce tyrannical?: The recorded pronunciation is /təˈrænəkəl/.
What does tyrannical mean?: Of, or relating to tyranny or a tyrant.
Where does tyrannical come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce tyrannical

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tyrannical”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/təˈrænəkəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tyrannical”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tyrannical” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.