despotic
adjective
des·pot·ic
de-ˈspä-tik 
di-
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a despot
a despotic government
Examples of despotic in a Sentence
a nation ruled by a series of despotic rulers, each seemingly worse than the last
the despotic coach demands that his players obey him without question
Recent Examples on the Web
Bernal as a despotic and at times deluded Magellan persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold 16th century expedition to the fabled lands of the East, only to unleash a decade of devastation wreaked by European conquistadors in the Pacific as part of colonial conquests.
—
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
The Framers understood the danger of a despotic regime and regarded the criminal jury trial as a key procedural safeguard to help ensure that only those acts and individuals society deemed truly culpable result in criminal punishment.
—Mike Fox, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Photo: Obscured Pictures Building the world of the film also meant drawing on all manner of cultural references—from the depths of the Vice News YouTube channel to an early ’00s documentary about American Apparel and its despotic CEO, Dov Charney, that Ulman sent to Simon Rex.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 2 May 2025
In these ways, Trump’s despotic acts are indeed without precedent in American history.
—Patrick Eddington, Oc Register, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
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Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
The Framers understood the danger of a despotic regime and regarded the criminal jury trial as a key procedural safeguard to help ensure that only those acts and individuals society deemed truly culpable result in criminal punishment.
—Mike Fox, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Photo: Obscured Pictures Building the world of the film also meant drawing on all manner of cultural references—from the depths of the Vice News YouTube channel to an early ’00s documentary about American Apparel and its despotic CEO, Dov Charney, that Ulman sent to Simon Rex.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 2 May 2025
In these ways, Trump’s despotic acts are indeed without precedent in American history.
—Patrick Eddington, Oc Register, 20 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despotic
Cite this Entry
“Despotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despotic. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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