despotic
/disˈpɒt.ɪk/adjective
despotic is spelled D-E-S-P-O-T-I-C: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, despotic means “Of or pertaining to a despot or tyrant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in despotic?
| Letters | 8: D-E-S-P-O-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is despotic?
Despotic appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce despotic?
- UK /disˈpɒt.ɪk/
- UK /dɛsˈpɒt.ɪk/
- UK /dəˈspɒt.ɪk/
Despotic has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-despotic.ogg, En-au-despotic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with despotic?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as despotic from its last stressed vowel (/ɒtɪk/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of despotic
- more despotic comparative
- most despotic superlative
- despotick
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does despotic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to a despot or tyrant.
This despotic age of the empire ended in a revolt.
- 2
Acting or ruling as a despot, tyrannical.
The despotic king dissolved the parliament, and took personal control of the country.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Despotic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or pertaining to a despot:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | despotique |
| German | despotisch |
| Portuguese | despótico |
| Spanish | despótico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does despotic come from?
From Ancient Greek δεσποτικός (despotikós) via French despotique, equivalent to despot + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).