sinh sát

Definition

1. Noun (Archaic/Literary):
   • Power of life and death: The absolute authority or power to decide whether someone lives or dies. It refers to the ultimate control over another person's life, often held by a ruler, judge, or someone in a supreme position of authority.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nhà vua nắm quyền sinh sát trong tay. (The king held the power of life and death in his hands.)
  • Quan tòa thời phong kiến có quyền sinh sát. (Feudal judges had the power of life and death.)
  • Hắn ta hành xử như kẻ nắm quyền sinh sát. (He acts like someone who holds the power of life and death.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in historical, literary, or formal contexts to describe extreme, often autocratic, power. It is not used in everyday modern conversation.
• It can be used metaphorically in modern contexts to criticize someone who wields excessive, unchecked authority in a particular domain, though this is less common.
  • Vị giám đốc độc đoán đó tự cho mình quyền sinh sát trong công ty. (That dictatorial director arrogated to himself the power of life and death within the company.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sinh tử (n): Life and death; a matter of vital importance.
  • Đây là vấn đề sinh tử của doanh nghiệp. (This is a matter of life and death for the enterprise.)

Synonyms

• Absolute power: Complete authority over others.
• Power over life and death: The direct English equivalent of the concept.
• Draconian authority: Severe and unchallengeable power (contextual synonym).

Related Idioms

• Nắm quyền sinh sát: To hold the power of life and death.
  • Trong tay hắn nắm quyền sinh sát với tất cả. (In his hands, he held the power of life and death over everyone.)