Tyrant Meaning
/ˈtaɪɹənt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.
nounAny monarch or governor.
Sentence Examples
We will not bend to the will of a tyrant.
Thus, the tyrant succeeded in conquering the kingdom.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The king was a ____ who ruled with an iron fist and ignored the people's needs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
History remembers him as a cruel ____ who was only interested in expanding his own power and his personal wealth today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], line 71:
"The reappearance of tyranny [in the 4th century BC] had many reasons... one of the main causes was the development of antagonism between rich and poor; tyrants came to power exploiting a social and political imbalance within the state."
— 1980, Michel Austin et al., Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece, section 142:
"Ancient Greek tyrannies appeared once more in great numbers with the breakdown of the polis in the period from the fourth to the second centuries [BC]. These later tyrannies tended to rely on a more narrow class base and to use a brutal military rule, and thus writers could use the words tyrant and tyranny, with their modern connotations of evil and cruelty, to describe them accurately."
— 1996, Roger Boesche, Theories of Tyranny, from Plato to Arendt, section 4:
"I am the Sonne of Marcus Cato, hoe.
A Foe to Tyrants, and my Countries Friend."
— 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], line 5:
"Here is a Proclamation for a Prince: that proclaims him in whoſe name it is emitted [James II of England], to be the greateſt Tyrant that ever lived in the world, and their Revolt who have diſowned him to be the juſteſt that ever was."
— 1744, Alexander Shiels [i.e., Alexander Shields], “Period VI. Containing the Testimony through the Continued Tract of the Present Deformation, from the Year 1660 to this Day.”, in A Hind Let Loose: Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ; with the True State thereof in All Its Periods: …, Edinburgh: Reprinted by R. Drummond and Company, and sold by William Gray bookbinder in the Grassmarket, and several others, &c., →OCLC, pages 167–168:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The king was a ____ who ruled with an iron fist and ignored the people's needs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
History remembers him as a cruel ____ who was only interested in expanding his own power and his personal wealth today.