1
Core meaning
A ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
Example
The autocrat dissolved the legislature.
autocrat
/ˈɔːtəkræt/ · AW-tuh-kratnoun
A ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
Use autocrat to express this relationship precisely: a ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
What autocrat Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
Power shifted from an elected council to a single autocrat.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The novel depicts a benevolent ruler becoming an autocrat.
Use autocrat Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The autocrat dissolved the legislature.
Power shifted from an elected council to a single autocrat.
The novel depicts a benevolent ruler becoming an autocrat.
Precision Matters
Autocrat overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
autocrat
vs.Means a ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
authoritarian
Means a person who favours or enforces strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.
autocrat
vs.Means a ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
potentate
Means a monarch, ruler, or other person who holds great political power.
autocrat
vs.Means a ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
aristocrat
Means a member of a hereditary, wealthy, or socially privileged ruling class.
autocrat
vs.Means a ruler who holds and exercises absolute, unrestricted political power.
anarchist
Means a person who advocates abolishing coercive government or established political authority.
Test autocrat in Context
He exercises absolute and unrestricted political power.
1
With no legislature or court able to limit his orders, the ruler governed as an ___.