tyran

Noun

tyrant (plural tyrants)

1. (historical, Ancient Greece) A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.
   • To proue him Tyrant, this reason may suffice, That Henry liueth still.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
2. (obsolete) Any monarch or governor.
   • Cassius... set tyrants over all Syria.1737, William Whiston translating Josephus, History of the Jewish Wars, I xii §2
3. A despot; a ruler who governs unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
   • Tyrannes...be but Gods scourges which he will cast into the fyre when he hath done with them.1587, Philip Sidney and Arthur Golding, A woorke concerning the trewnesse of the christian religion, translating Philippe De Mornay, XII 196

   Synonyms:

   archon, basileus, aisymnetes, autocrat, dictator, despot, martinet

4. (broadly) Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
   • A plague vpon the Tyrant that I serue1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
5. (broadly) A villain; a person or thing who uses strength or violence to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
   • I was a blasphemar, and a persecuter, and a tyraunt.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, :[13]
6. The tyrant birds, members of the family Tyrannidae, which often fight or drive off other birds which approach their nests.
   • The Tyrant... The courage of this little Bird is singular.1731, Mark Catesby, The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, I 55

   Synonyms:

   tyrant bird, tyrant flycatcher, tyrant shrike, king bird, bee martin

See all 9 meanings of tyrant