ETYM Greek, cf. French autocratie. Related to Autocrat.
1. A political system governed by a single individual; SYN. autarchy.
2. A political theory favoring unlimited authority by a single individual.
Government by one individual.
Form of government in which one person holds absolute power. The autocrat has uncontrolled and undisputed authority. Russian government under the tsars was an autocracy extending from the mid-16th century to the early 20th century. The title Autocratix (a female autocrat) was assumed by Catherine II of Russia in the 18th century.