tyrant means tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant.
tyrant is pronounced /ˈtaɪɹənt/.
Etymology
From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.
adj
- Tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant.e.g.“He was most tirant & cruell of all emperours.” — c. 1530, John Rastell, Pastyme of People:
noun
- A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.e.g.“To proue him Tyrant, this reason may suffice, That Henry liueth still.” — c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, an
- Any monarch or governor.e.g.“Cassius... set tyrants over all Syria.” — 1737, William Whiston translating Josephus, History of the Jewish Wars, I xii §2
- A despot; a ruler who governs unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.e.g.“Tyrannes...be but Gods scourges which he will cast into the fyre when he hath done with them.” — 1587, Philip Sidney and Arthur Golding, A woorke concerning the trewnesse of the christian religion, translating Philippe De Mornay, XII 196
- Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.e.g.“A plague vpon the Tyrant that I serue” — 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published
- A villain; a person or thing who uses strength or violence to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.e.g.“I was a blasphemar, and a persecuter, and a tyraunt.” — 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, :[13]:
- The tyrant birds, members of the family Tyrannidae, which often fight or drive off other birds which approach their nests.e.g.“The Tyrant... The courage of this little Bird is singular.” — 1731, Mark Catesby, The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, I 55:
verb
- To act like a tyrant; to be tyrannical.e.g.“Let thy judgment be king, but not tyrant over it” — a. 1661, Thomas Fuller, Of Fancy:
- To tyrannize.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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