petty tyrant
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.
Seinfeld’s Newman, played by Wayne Knight, is an unhinged petty tyrant who abuses his position at the post office to wield power over others.
From Slate • Sep. 17, 2020
It’s just that when Ditka ruled as a petty tyrant, fans and the media too often celebrated his behavior as hard-nosed toughness or excused it with a smirk and a shrug.
From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2019
But Savage is something much better: a petty tyrant who sees the entire zombie apocalypse as a challenge to his authority, until he finally cracks and becomes a chortling, expansive nihilist.
From The Verge • Sep. 24, 2017
Christie denied any involvement, but the episode seemed to cement an image of him as a petty tyrant.
From New York Times • Nov. 20, 2014
Thus were the genius, the learning, and the virtues of this great and good man, laid prostrate at the feet of a petty tyrant; and might have been for ever lost to the world.
From The American Quarterly Review, No. 17, March 1831 by Walsh, Robert
