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.

In case you’ve forgotten the events of 2014’s “The Lego Movie,” it’s about a group of heroes resisting the conformist authoritarianism of a ridiculous figure called President Business, also known as the despotic Lord Business.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

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

They might try to challenge their removal to a despotic regime saying their naming-and-shaming in the UK means they could be tortured back home - something our law absolutely forbids.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2024

Now I never had, as the reader knows, either given any formal promise or entered into any engagement; and this language was all much too hard and much too despotic for the occasion.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë