tyranny

Etymology

From Middle English tirannye, from Old French tyrannie, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, tyrania, from Ancient Greek τυραννία (turannía, “tyranny”), from τύραννος (túrannos, “lord, master, sovereign, tyrant”).

noun

1. A government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power; this system of government.
2. The office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
3. Absolute power, or its use.
4. A system of government in which power is exercised on behalf of the ruler or ruling class, without regard to the wishes of the governed.
   Control, dispossession, violence, and tyranny are not “defensive”: they are part of an organized, ongoing aggression. 2019-4-28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine
5. Extreme severity or rigour.