ˈtirənē, -ni noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English tyrannie, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, from Latin tyrannus tyrant + -ia -y
1.
a. : absolute government (as of an ancient Greek city-state) in which power is vested in a single ruler — compare autocracy
b. : the power, authority, office, and administration of such a ruler
c. : a city or other administrative unit under such government
2. : rigorous, cruel, oppressive, and unjustly severe government whether by a single absolute ruler or other controlling power
3.
a. : oppressive, severe, and unjust domination
the tyranny of a harsh overseer
subject to the tyranny of fanaticism
b. : a severe and rigorous condition or effect
the tyranny of the open night's too rough for Nature to endure — Shakespeare
c. : an oppressive effect that derives from the inexorable, relentless, or omnipresent quality of something in question
the useful tyranny of the normal — Edward Sapir
two travelers escaped from the tyranny of ham and eggs — John Buchan
4.
a. : a tyrannical act : an instance of tyranny
all the petty tyrannies of domestic life
b. obsolete : lawless and violent activity