caudillo
noun
cau·di·llo
kau̇-ˈt͟hē-(ˌ)yō 
-ˈt͟hēl-(ˌ)yō
-ˈt͟hēl-(ˌ)yō
plural caudillos
: a Spanish or Latin American military dictator
Examples of caudillo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some point to Latin America’s long tradition of strong, personalistic leaders, caudillos such as Simón Bolívar and Juan Manuel de Rosas who presided after the region’s wars for independence in the nineteenth century.
—
Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
The three great caudillos of the Mexican Revolution were Villa, Zapata, and Obregón.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 11 May 2023
Trump, it’s claimed, cannot present affinities with fascism because there is no such thing as fascism in America; this is why Trumpism belongs to a special historical pathway that separates the American caudillo from other global histories, especially the history of fascism and postfascism.
—Federico Finchelstein, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2020
Others were more sanguine, confident that after more than two decades of reforms designed to modernize the country, Mexican institutions were strong enough to contain the ambitions of the 65-year-old caudillo.
—Mary Anastasia O’Grady, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2022
Russian caudillo Vladimir Putin plans to use Ukraine as the stage for an opera in three acts: Blitzkrieg, Anschluss, Kolonisation.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 25 Feb. 2022
Putin is a ridiculous caudillo running a third-rate gangster state with a GDP per capita that is half of Lithuania’s and barely ahead of Kazakhstan’s.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 20 Jan. 2022
The caudillo depends on our exaggeration of his power.
—Michael Greenberg, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020
Latin America is inured to strongmen and demagogues, but Bukele appears to be something new, a caudillo for the digital age intent on spreading his brand of populist politics across the region.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2021
Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
The three great caudillos of the Mexican Revolution were Villa, Zapata, and Obregón.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 11 May 2023
Trump, it’s claimed, cannot present affinities with fascism because there is no such thing as fascism in America; this is why Trumpism belongs to a special historical pathway that separates the American caudillo from other global histories, especially the history of fascism and postfascism.
—Federico Finchelstein, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2020
Others were more sanguine, confident that after more than two decades of reforms designed to modernize the country, Mexican institutions were strong enough to contain the ambitions of the 65-year-old caudillo.
—Mary Anastasia O’Grady, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2022
Russian caudillo Vladimir Putin plans to use Ukraine as the stage for an opera in three acts: Blitzkrieg, Anschluss, Kolonisation.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 25 Feb. 2022
Putin is a ridiculous caudillo running a third-rate gangster state with a GDP per capita that is half of Lithuania’s and barely ahead of Kazakhstan’s.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 20 Jan. 2022
The caudillo depends on our exaggeration of his power.
—Michael Greenberg, The New York Review of Books, 5 Nov. 2020
Latin America is inured to strongmen and demagogues, but Bukele appears to be something new, a caudillo for the digital age intent on spreading his brand of populist politics across the region.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'caudillo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Caudillo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caudillo. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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