To tyrannize people is to use power over them in a cruel and unfair way — to rule them by fear, give them no say, and punish them when they resist.

in a cruel and unfair way殘酷又不公平地 to use power over them對人民濫用權力 to rule them by fear用恐懼統治他們、give them no say不讓他們有發言權、and punish them when they resist並在他們反抗時懲罰他們——to tyrannize people這就是tyrannize人民 is的意思。

It works with a direct object ('the general tyrannized the whole country') and also with 'over' ('he tyrannized over his younger brothers'), which is a slightly older-sounding pattern but still used.

It works with a direct object這個字可以直接接受詞（'the general tyrannized the whole country'將軍統治了整個國家）, and also with 'over'也可以接over（'he tyrannized over his younger brothers'他對弟弟們作威作福）, which is a slightly older-sounding pattern but still used這是稍微比較舊式的說法，但現在還有人用。

It is a formal, literary word: you meet it in history writing, political argument, and novels far more than in conversation.

It is a formal, literary word這是一個正式、文學性的字: in history writing, political argument, and novels你會在歷史寫作、政治論述和小說裡遇到它 far more than in conversation比在日常對話裡常見得多。

Like 'tyrannical', it is often stretched down to small domestic scenes — one child tyrannizing the others, a manager tyrannizing a small office — and there the word is doing quiet extra work, saying 'this small power is being used the way dictators use big power'.

Like 'tyrannical'就像'tyrannical'一樣, it is often stretched down to small domestic scenes這個字也常被用到小小的家庭場景裡 — one child tyrannizing the others一個小孩欺負其他小孩, a manager tyrannizing a small office或主管對小辦公室作威作福 — and there the word is doing quiet extra work這時這個字悄悄多做了一件事, saying 'this small power is being used the way dictators use big power'暗示『這小小的權力，正用著獨裁者用大權力的方式在使用』。

British writing usually spells it 'tyrannise'; American writing uses 'tyrannize'. Both are correct, and Taiwanese textbooks generally follow the American spelling.

British writing英式英文 usually spells it 'tyrannise'通常拼作'tyrannise'; American writing美式英文 uses 'tyrannize'則用'tyrannize'。Both are correct兩種都對, and Taiwanese textbooks generally follow the American spelling台灣課本通常採用美式拼法。