autocrat

noun

au·​to·​crat ˈȯ-tə-ˌkrat How to pronounce autocrat (audio)
Synonyms of autocratnext
1
: a person (such as a monarch) ruling with unlimited authority
2
: one who has undisputed influence or power
He was the autocrat of his household.

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of autocrat in a Sentence

European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
May 14, 2025 4 min read The red flags abound—political research tells us the U.S. is becoming an autocracy By Dan Vergano As president, Donald Trump pretty much checks all the warning boxes for an autocrat. —Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 14 May 2025 But Trump's disruption of the Western alliance, his appeasement of autocrats, and his abandonment of global stability have made the world a far scarier place. —Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025 Dissidents describe a pattern: autocrats and their cronies use even the most minor personal scandal to undermine the credibility of activists and weaken their movements. —Julia Angwin, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2025 Similarly, modern autocrats avoid attacking dissidents in ways likely to turn them into martyrs. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for autocrat

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Greek; French autocrate, borrowed from Greek autokratḗs "ruling by itself (of a mind), with sole authority (for a task)," from auto- auto- + -kratēs, adjective derivative of kratéō, krateîn "to be strong or powerful, have command, rule," derivative of krátos "strength, power, authority" — more at hard entry 1

Note: The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, notes that the earliest English attestation of autocrat, from 1762, precedes the earliest French attestation by six years. The source in question, the newspaper The Public Advertiser, uses the word as part of the title of Catherine II, "Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias." "Autocrat" here most likely translates, with the loss of the feminine suffix, French autocratrice, a word used in the French titles of three Russian empresses: Anna (1730-40), Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-62), and Catherine (1762-1796). The masculine correspondent was autocrateur, which corresponds not to Greek autokratḗs, but rather to the adjective autokrátōr, which is better attested in ancient Greek in a wider array of meanings: "independent, with full authority, in control, with sole authority," and in the early Roman empire is used as the Greek equivalent of Latin imperātor (see imperator, emperor). Indeed, though the etymology above showing borrowing from autokratḗs is formally acceptable, English autocrate may more likely be a back-formation from autocracy (in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the meanings "self-control" and "absolute power," and also spelled autocrasy, autocraty) (compare aristocrat, democrat). The Russian equivalents of French autocrateur and autocratrice were samoderžec and samoderžica (compare samoderžavie "autocracy"), which themselves represent calques on Greek autokrátōr, though at a much earlier period (Old Church Slavic samodrŭžĭcĭ, samodrŭžitelĭ, from samo- "self" and drŭžati "to hold, have, control").

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of autocrat was in 1762

Rhymes for autocrat

See All Rhymes for autocrat

Browse Nearby Words

autocracy
autocrat
autocratic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Autocrat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autocrat. Accessed 21 May. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

autocrat

noun
au·​to·​crat ˈȯt-ə-ˌkrat How to pronounce autocrat (audio)
: a person who rules with unlimited authority

More from Merriam-Webster on autocrat

Nglish: Translation of autocrat for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things
See More

Popular

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All