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tyrannymore about tyranny

tyranny

 

  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tyranny  \Tyr"an*ny\,  n.  [OE.  tirannye  OF  tirannie  F. 
  tyrannie;  cf  It  tirannia  Gr  ?,  ?,  L.  tyrannis.  See 
  {Tyrant}.] 
  1.  The  government  or  authority  of  a  tyrant;  a  country 
  governed  by  an  absolute  ruler;  hence  arbitrary  or 
  despotic  exercise  of  power;  exercise  of  power  over 
  subjects  and  others  with  a  rigor  not  authorized  by  law  or 
  justice,  or  not  requisite  for  the  purposes  of  government. 
 
  ``Sir,''  would  he  [Seneca]  say  ``an  emperor  mote 
  need  Be  virtuous  and  hate  tyranny.''  --Chaucer. 
 
  2.  Cruel  government  or  discipline;  as  the  tyranny  of  a 
  schoolmaster. 
 
  3.  Severity;  rigor;  inclemency. 
 
  The  tyranny  of  the  open  night's  too  rough  For  nature 
  to  endure.  --Shak. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  tyranny 
  n  1:  a  form  of  government  in  which  the  ruler  is  an  absolute 
  dictator  (not  restricted  by  a  constitution  or  laws  or 
  opposition  etc.)  [syn:  {dictatorship},  {absolutism},  {authoritarianism}, 
  {Caesarism},  {despotism},  {monocracy},  {one-man  rule}, 
  {shogunate},  {Stalinism},  {totalitarianism}] 
  2:  dominance  through  threat  of  punishment  and  violence  [syn:  {absolutism}, 
  {despotism}]




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