dictator

noun

dic·​ta·​tor ˈdik-ˌtā-tər 

dik-ˈtā-

1

a

: a person granted absolute emergency power

especially, history : one appointed by the senate (see senate sense 1b) of ancient Rome

b

: one holding complete autocratic control : a person with unlimited governmental power

c

: one ruling in an absolute (see absolute sense 2) and often oppressive way

fascist dictators

2

: one who says or reads something for a person to transcribe or for a machine to record : one that dictates (see dictate entry 1 sense 1)

Synonyms of dictator

• tyrant

Examples of dictator in a Sentence

The country was ruled by a military dictator.

the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignorance

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1991 more than half a million Americans served in Operation Desert Storm, an allied campaign that freed Kuwait from the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. —David Morgan, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026

The company was at the forefront of Sudan’s burgeoning film industry, which started to take root in the wake of dictator Omar al-Bashir ousting in 2019, but now lies in tatters due to the country’s civil war. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026

And America's armed forces overwhelmed all defenses and utterly defeated an enemy -- good fighters -- to end the reign of outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro and bring him to face American justice. —February 25, NPR, 25 Feb. 2026

And yet the 1934 World Cup in Italy was turned into a spectacle of adoration for the Fascist dictator Mussolini. —Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dictatour, borrowed from Latin dictātor, from dictāre "to say repeatedly, speak aloud words to be transcribed by another, issue as an order" + -tor, agent suffix — more at dictate entry 1

Note: Though formally a derivative of dictāre, the noun dictātor is attested perhaps two centuries earlier in Latin and may be an independent formation, though the model for it is not clear; the sense "issue as an order" of dictāre may reflect influence of dictātor. The form tictator used in the Old English translation of Orosius's Historiae Adversum Paganos had no subsequent use.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for dictator

• coater
• creator
• curator
• debater
• deflator
• dilator
• equator
• locator
• mutator
• piscator
• pronator
• relator

Kids Definition

dictator

noun

dic·​ta·​tor ˈdik-ˌtāt-ər 

dik-ˈtāt-ər

1

: a person who rules with total authority and often in a cruel or brutal manner

2

: one that dictates

dictatorial

ˌdik-tə-ˈtōr-ē-əl, 

-tȯr-

adjective

dictatorially

-ē-ə-lē

adverb

dictatorialness noun