despotic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Francisco Franco had heir faces on stamps, currency, and coins during their respective despotic reigns.

From Slate • Dec. 20, 2025

Far from being despotic, Louis sought to be a constitutional monarch, with representative institutions that could mobilize consent and resources behind state policy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

In reality they were abandoned to poverty under the rule of despotic local leaders.

From BBC • May 25, 2024

In a growing genre of movies inspired by the #MeToo movement, two very different films stand out: “Women Talking” and “Tár,” a portrait of a despotic, world-famous conductor heading for a fall.

From New York Times • Jan. 5, 2023

The well-known face was there: stern, relentless as ever—there was that peculiar eye which nothing could melt, and the somewhat raised, imperious, despotic eyebrow.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë