AUTOCRACY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does autocracy mean? 

• AUTOCRACY (noun)
  The noun AUTOCRACY has 2 senses:

1. a political system governed by a single individual

2. a political theory favoring unlimited authority by a single individual

  Familiarity information: AUTOCRACY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AUTOCRACY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A political system governed by a single individual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

autarchy; autocracy

Hypernyms ("autocracy" is a kind of...):

form of government; political system (the members of a social organization who are in power)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "autocracy"):

monarchy (an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority)

absolutism; authoritarianism; Caesarism; despotism; dictatorship; monocracy; one-man rule; shogunate; Stalinism; totalitarianism; tyranny (a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A political theory favoring unlimited authority by a single individual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("autocracy" is a kind of...):

ideology; political orientation; political theory (an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "autocracy"):

Machiavellianism (the political doctrine of Machiavelli: any means (however unscrupulous) can be used by a ruler in order to create and maintain his autocratic government)