autocrat

Borrowed from French autocrate, itself from Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατής (autokratḗs, “sovereign”), from αὐτο- (auto-, “self”) (combinatory form of αὐτός (autós)) + κρατία (kratía, “rule”) (from κράτος (krátos, “strength, power”)). By surface analysis, auto- +‎ -crat.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔːtəkɹæt/

• Audio (US):

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autocrat (plural autocrats)

1. An absolute ruler with infinite power.

   Synonyms: autocrator, despot, dictator, monarch, tyrant, strongman

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Secretaryship”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 131:

     Your salary is high; you are to have apartments in the house; and to be the autocrat of the library, where, I shrewdly suspect, your reign will be undisturbed.

   • 2022 August 2, Nancy Pelosi, “Nancy Pelosi: Why I’m leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan”, in The Washington Post‎^[1], archived from the original on 02 August 2022, Opinion:

     Indeed, we take this trip at a time when the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy. As Russia wages its premeditated, illegal war against Ukraine, killing thousands of innocents — even children — it is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats.

   • 2022 December 1, John Avlon, “Opinion: The tide is turning against autocracy”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     We’ve gotten used to headlines predicting the demise of democracy. While the threats we face are real, a glance around the globe shows that it’s autocrats who are in retreat right now.

   • 2024 March 8, Kristen Holmes and Andrew Millman, “Trump praises ‘fantastic’ Viktor Orbán while hosting Hungarian autocrat at Mar-a-Lago for meeting and concert”, in CNN‎^[3]:

     Trump added that the European autocrat is “a noncontroversial figure because he said, ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ and that’s the end of it, right? He’s the boss and … he’s a great leader, fantastic leader. In Europe and around the world, they respect him.”

   • 2025 April 10, Adam Serwer, “The Confrontation Between Trump and the Supreme Court Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic:

     If Trump defies the Court, there is little to restrain him from acting as an autocrat, given the supplication of Republicans in Congress.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:autocrat.
2. A title borne by some such monarchs, as in Byzantium and tsarist Russia.
3. Until the 20th century, a favorable description of a ruler who was connected with the concept of lack of conflicts of interest and an indication of grandeur and power.

• autocracy

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “autocrat”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• actuator

Borrowed from French autocrate, itself from Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατής (autokratḗs, “sovereign”), from αὐτο- (auto-, “self”) (combinatory form of αὐτός (autós)) + κρατία (kratía, “rule”) (from κράτος (krátos, “strength, power”)).

autocrat m (plural autocrați)

1. autocrat

• autocrație