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autocracy

 [aw-tok-ruh-see]   Example Sentences Origin

au·toc·ra·cy

   [aw-tok-ruh-see]
noun, plural -cies.
1.
government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the government or power of an absolute monarch.
2.
a nation, state, or community ruled by an autocrat.
3.
unlimited authority, power, or influence of one person in any group.
Origin:
1645–55; < Greek autokráteia power over oneself, sole power, equivalent to autokrat(ḗs) autocrat + -eia -ia; see -cracy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Autocracy is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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Example Sentences
  • One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks.
  • There was autocracy in political life, and it was superseded by democracy.
  • Otherwise, institutions tend over time to atrophy and give way to autocracy.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
autocracy (ɔːˈtɒkrəsɪ)
 
—n , pl -cies
1.  government by an individual with unrestricted authority
2.  the unrestricted authority of such an individual
3.  a country, society, etc, ruled by an autocrat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

autocracy
1650s, "independent power, self-sustained power," from Fr. autocratie, from Gk. autokrateia "ruling by oneself," noun of state from autokrates (see autocrat). Meaning "absolute government, supreme political power" is recorded from 1855.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
autocracy [(aw-tok-ruh-see)]

A system of government in which supreme political power is held by one person. (Compare constitutional monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy.)

Note: Iraq under Saddam Hussein is an autocracy.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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