Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tyranny"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tyranny \Tyr"an*ny\, n. [OE. tirannye, OF. tirannie, F.
tyrannie; cf. It. tirannia; Gr. ?, ?, L. tyrannis. See
{Tyrant}.]
1. The government or authority of a tyrant; a country
governed by an absolute ruler; hence, arbitrary or
despotic exercise of power; exercise of power over
subjects and others with a rigor not authorized by law or
justice, or not requisite for the purposes of government.
``Sir,'' would he [Seneca] say, ``an emperor mote
need Be virtuous and hate tyranny.'' --Chaucer.
2. Cruel government or discipline; as, the tyranny of a
schoolmaster.
3. Severity; rigor; inclemency.
The tyranny of the open night's too rough For nature
to endure. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tyranny
n 1: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute
dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or
opposition etc.) [syn: {dictatorship}, {absolutism}, {authoritarianism},
{Caesarism}, {despotism}, {monocracy}, {one-man rule},
{shogunate}, {Stalinism}, {totalitarianism}]
2: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {absolutism},
{despotism}]
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