as in ruler
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority
European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God
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Recent Examples of autocrat
Foreman, who wrote, directed and designed many of his own productions, is more of a collaborative autocrat.
—
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
How does a roll call of modern autocrats, and wannabe autocrats, like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, India’s Narendra Modi, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro implement this modus operandi for the latest model of autocracy?
—Cecilia Menjívar, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2024
Harris has placed herself squarely in the tradition of recent Democratic administrations, especially Biden’s, arguing that the United States must lead strong international coalitions to contain autocrats such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Turkey, with a religious autocrat as prime minister, has seen a wave of democratic participation in its cities, particularly Ankara and Izmir.
—Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 5 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Autocrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocrat. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
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