dictatorship

noun

dic·​ta·​tor·​ship dik-ˈtā-tər-ˌship 

ˈdik-ˌtā-

1

: the office of dictator

2

: autocratic rule, control, or leadership

people suffering under his dictatorship

3

a

: a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique

… the statutory and constitutional constraints which distinguish a democracy from a dictatorship.

—Center for National Security Studies, et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 215 F.Supp.2d 94 (2002)

b

: a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated

rising up against a military dictatorship

c

: a despotic state

establishing a dictatorship

Synonyms of dictatorship

• tyranny
• fascism
• autocracy
• despotism

Examples of dictatorship in a Sentence

The country suffered for many years under his dictatorship.

His enemies accused him of establishing a dictatorship.

Recent Examples on the Web

After all, the Berlin Wall had fallen in 1989, while Chile’s military dictatorship officially ended in 1990. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026

Many had argued that the banner, which largely meditates on the violence of the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia, contained antisemitic caricatures. —Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 12 May 2026

Through that gesture, Chile attempts to tell a story of a nation that has left its past behind – without speaking about the dictatorship. —John Hopewell, Variety, 11 May 2026

France lurched from republic to dictatorship to empire before cycling back through absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, Second Republic, and Second Empire. —Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

dictator + -ship, as translation of Latin dictātūra

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dictatorship

• apostleship
• apprenticeship
• assistantship
• championship
• chancellorship
• citizenship
• companionship
• copartnership
• directorship
• discipleship
• editorship
• generalship

Kids Definition

dictatorship

noun

dic·​ta·​tor·​ship dik-ˈtāt-ər-ˌship 

ˈdik-ˌtāt-

1

: the office of a dictator

2

: rule, control, or leadership by one person with total power

3

: a government or country in which total power is held by a dictator or a small group