Standard Lemma guide

despot

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈdɛs.pɒt/
  • UK: /ˈdɛz.pɒt/
  • US: /ˈdɛs.pət/
  • Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D EH1 S P AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A ruler with absolute power; a tyrant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A title awarded to senior members of the imperial family in the late Byzantine Empire, and claimed by various independent or semi-autonomous rulers in the Balkans (12th to 15th centuries)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a cruel and oppressive dictator

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tyrant, autocrat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dictator, potentate

Narrower terms: czar

History

Etymology

From Middle French despote, from Old French despote, from Medieval Latin despota, from Ancient Greek δεσπότης (despótēs, “lord, master, owner”). Cognate with Sanskrit दम्पति (dámpati).

Across languages

Translations

60 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Arabic: طَاغٍ (ṭāḡin) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Arabic: الطَاغِي (aṭ-ṭāḡī) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Arabic: مُسْتَبِدّ (mustabidd) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Arabic: ظَالِم (ẓālim) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Arabic: طَاغِيَة (ṭāḡiya) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Armenian: բռնակալ (bṙnakal) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Armenian: բռնապետ (bṙnapet) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Belarusian: дэ́спат (déspat) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Bulgarian: де́спот (déspot) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Catalan: dèspota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 暴君 (bàojūn) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Chinese Mandarin: 霸王 (bàwáng) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Czech: despota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Danish: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Dutch: despoot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Esperanto: despoto — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Estonian: despoot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Finnish: despootti — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • French: despote — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Georgian: დესპოტი (desṗoṭi) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • German: Despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • German: Despotin — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Greek: δεσπότης (despótis) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Hebrew: רודן (rodán) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Hindi: अधिनायक (adhināyak) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Hungarian: kényúr — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Hungarian: zsarnok — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Hungarian: despota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Irish: forlámhaí — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Italian: despota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Japanese: 暴君 (bōkun) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Korean: 폭군 (pokgun) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Lao: ທໍລະລາດ (thǭ la lāt) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Lao: ທໍຣະຣາດ (thǭ ra rāt) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Latin: tyrannus — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Latvian: despots — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Lithuanian: despotas — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Macedonian: деспот (despot) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Norwegian Bokmål: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Persian: مستبد (mostabedd) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Polish: despota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Portuguese: déspota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Romanian: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Russian: де́спот (déspot) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Slovak: despota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Slovene: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Spanish: déspota — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Swedish: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Tajik: мустабид (mustabid) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Thai: ทรราช (tɔɔ-rá-râat) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: despot — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: diktatör — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: müstebit — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: mütegallibe — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: tiran — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Turkish: zorba — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Ukrainian: де́спот (déspot) — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Vietnamese: bạo quân — ruler with absolute power; tyrant
  • Vietnamese: bá vương — ruler with absolute power; tyrant