might makes right
/ˈmaɪ̯t meɪ̯ks ˈɹaɪ̯t/
might makes right proverb: what is right or wrong is determined by power and strength; power justifies itself.
Proverb
might makes right
might makes right meaning in Hindi and Vietnamese
might makes right in Hindi
- morality cannot question the powerful
- जिसकी लाठी उसकी भैंस jiskī lāṭhī uskī bhains
might makes right in Vietnamese
- morality cannot question the powerful
- mạnh được yếu thua
Forms of might makes right
| alternative form | might is right |
|---|
Origin of might makes right
Inherited from Middle English might is right, first attested in the 14th century. The concept is expressed by various classical authors; a similar argument is notably attributed to Thrasymachus by Plato in the Republic 340a (in Paul Shorey’s translation, “the advantage of the stronger is just”).
Words that rhyme with might makes right
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- knight
- slight
- Dwight
- height
- sight
- night
- sprite
- fight
- parasite
- site
- alight
- smite
- all right
- blight
- might
- mite
- skite
- cite
- indite
- lite
- outright
- plight
- bight
- excite
- ignite
- invite
- overnight
- uptight
- wight
- accite
- alright
- benight
- bewrite
- blite
- copyright
- despite
- dight
- disunite
- finite
- flite
- hight
- incite
- recite
- relight
- rewrite
- sleight
- spite
- spright
Questions about might makes right
- What does might makes right mean?
- Might makes right means what is right or wrong is determined by power and strength; power justifies itself.
- What is might makes right in Hindi?
- Might makes right in Hindi is जिसकी लाठी उसकी भैंस (jiskī lāṭhī uskī bhains). See Might makes right meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is might makes right?
- Might makes right is a proverb.
- How do you pronounce might makes right?
- Might makes right is pronounced /ˈmaɪ̯t meɪ̯ks ˈɹaɪ̯t/.
Words near might makes right in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: might makes right (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-might makes right.ogg.
Cite this entry: “might makes right.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/might_makes_right. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.