Tyrannic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by a brutal and authoritarian style of leadership
2. Referring to a form of rule that is harsh and repressive in nature
3. Exerting harsh and unjust control over others ; typical of a government that rules with severe and unjust authority

Etymology: In ancient Greece, "tyrannos" did not begin as an insult. It described a man who seized sole power outside the normal constitution, and some early tyrants, such as Peisistratos of Athens, were remembered as relatively capable rulers. The Greek word is probably not native to Greek. Scholars suspect a borrowing from a language of Asia Minor, but no certain source has been identified. The negative sense grew as the tyrants of the fifth and fourth centuries BC came to be judged mainly by their cruelty and their abuse of power. The adjective "tyrannikos" meant belonging to such a ruler, and Latin adopted it as "tyrannicus". English took the adjective from Latin, keeping both the older sense of unlawful domination and the later sense of harsh, ruthless oppression.

Synonyms: oppressive, despotic, autocratic, dictatorial

Antonyms: democratic, liberal