Definition of "tyranny"

tyranny

/ˈtɪɹəni/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural tyrannies
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.
  Quotations
  He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle,Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie,Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie:What will he doe ſupported by a king?
  c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, (please specify the page)
  Control, dispossession, violence, and tyranny are not “defensive”: they are part of an organized, ongoing aggression.
  2019 April 28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine‎
5. Extreme severity or rigour.