tyrant

/ˈtaɪrənt/

/ˈtaɪrənt/

Other forms: tyrants

If you accuse your parents of being tyrants, you are saying they abuse their control of you — they are cruel, overly restrictive of your freedoms, and unfair. A tyrant is a ruler who is cruel and unjust.

Here's an idea for a game: list all the tyrants in history and vote for the worst tyrant of all time. Don't limit yourself to 20th or 21st century ones like Hitler and Stalin and Saddam Hussein. Maybe put Attila the Hun on your list. You could also name a few minor tyrants in your life, such as your boss or another person with unreasonable demands.

Definitions of tyrant

1. noun

   a cruel and oppressive dictator
   synonyms: autocrat, despot

   types:

   czar

   a person having great power

   type of:

   dictator, potentate

   a ruler who is unconstrained by law
2. noun

   in ancient Greece, a ruler who had seized power without legal right to it
   examples:

   Dionysius the Elder

   the tyrant of Syracuse who fought the Carthaginians (430-367 BC)

   type of:

   ruler, swayer

   a person who rules or commands
3. noun

   any person who exercises power in a cruel way
   “his father was a tyrant”

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being