verb
- to rule or treat someone in a cruel, harsh, or oppressive way
Usage: British spelling; American spelling is ‘tyrannize’
Examples
- The dictator continued to tyrannise his people for decades.
- She refused to let her older brother tyrannise her any longer.
- The manager would tyrannise his employees with unreasonable demands.
- History shows how absolute power can lead rulers to tyrannise their subjects.
- The school bully tried to tyrannise the younger students.
- Workers organized to resist being tyrannised by unfair labor practices.