Misruler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who rules over others in a harsh, incompetent, or unjust manner, often misusing power entrusted to them
2. A person who holds authority and exercises it poorly, oppressing or mismanaging those under their command
3. An individual in power who governs badly, abusing their position to the detriment of the people they control

Etymology: "Misruler" is built from "misrule" plus the agent suffix "-er," so it names a person who rules badly or disorderly. The base word "misrule" dates from Middle English, where it meant disorder, lawlessness, or unruly conduct, and the suffix "-er" simply turns it into a word for the one who causes or embodies it. English already had a close relative before this form appeared: Middle English "myssrewler" carried the same sense of a disorderly or rebellious person. The modern spelling is a later reshaping of that older word, with the "mis-" prefix and the rule-word combined in the familiar way.

Synonyms: tyrant, despot