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

Now, is that the same as a soldier betting on the capture of a vicious dictator? —Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026

Now some people, or maybe just One People, might chuckle at that, thinking dictator Kim Jong Un’s FAILING Ryugyong hotel makes the One People’s library a shoo-in for Best in Show Vainglorious Architecture Awards. —Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026

Streep’s beloved ice queen portrayal wasn’t as savage as the book, where the character was a British dictator in designer glasses. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026

Even under military threat, many dictators and authoritarian leaders — Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia, Bashar al-Assad in Syria and earlier this year, Maduro in Venezuela — have chosen resistance until the last minute. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 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