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Full Definition of DESPOTISM. 1. a: rule by a despot b: despotic exercise of power. 2. a: a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power: absolutism b: a despotic state.
Posted on July 6, 2015 at 7:07 PM. Enlightened absolutism is sometimes called enlightened despotism. An absolute ruler or despot is someone who believes that the ruler should have all the power and no one should have any right to question or challenge what the ruler does. Generally, despot is a negative term. An enlightened despot was one who bought into at least some of the ideas of the Enlightenment.