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.

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

There are few instances where Lou, the office's bad-tempered, petty tyrant, is worthy of anyone’s sympathy.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2015

“Sacco grants dignity to his subjects—the petty tyrant and the suffering victim alike—simply through the meticulousness with which he renders them,” Campbell Robertson wrote in July.

From Slate • Nov. 30, 2012

Had his talents been proportioned to his obstinacy of will, he might have ruled over large communities, instead of acting the petty tyrant on the deck of his small craft.

From Flora Lyndsay or, Passages in an Eventful Life by Moodie, Susanna