dictatorship

noun

dic·ta·tor·ship | \dik-ˈtā-tər-ˌship,

ˈdik-ˌ\

Definition of dictatorship

1 : the office of dictator

2 : autocratic rule, control, or leadership people suffering under his dictatorship

3a : a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique Communism and dictatorship

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

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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

Likewise, Fidel Castro’s Communist Cuba imposed its own form of Latin dictatorship, while Mexico was in the grip of one-party rule by the ideologically nebulous Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). — Ioan Grillo, The New Republic, "When Democracy Isn’t Enough," 6 June 2018 Fela Kuti, the pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, was famous for his political activism during the country's era of military dictatorships. — Joey Akan, CNN, "From Chibok Girls to Yahoo Boys, 'This is Nigeria' video is a mirror for the country," 28 May 2018 For us, the end of the dictatorship is the only way. — Vivienne Walt, Time, "Meet 4 Crusaders Who Are Keeping the Dream of Democracy Alive," 12 July 2018 There were calls for civil disobedience and concerns about America slipping toward dictatorship. — Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, "Schumer Misses Town Hall in Brooklyn, but Still Feels the Heat," 3 July 2018 Both my father and my grandfather had been imprisoned by Tito’s communist dictatorship in Yugoslavia. — Al Saracevic, SFChronicle.com, "In this case, it’s OK to root for a team," 30 June 2018 Mencius Moldbug, who talks about having a global patchwork of small city states, which would be essentially corporate shareholder dictatorships. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Corey Pein, author of ‘Live Work Work Work Die,’ on Recode Decode," 13 June 2018 Destiny does not face off against free will, while franchise flagships like democracy-vs.-dictatorship and the tragedies of war merit muted mentions at best. — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "Solo film review: Best when it embraces its favorite action-movie urges," 24 May 2018 There were a handful of references to the events that led to Gilead’s repressive dictatorship—a sudden plague of infertility in the U.S., the emergence of a Christian reconstructionist movement that staged a military coup. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Handmaid's Tale and the Suffering of Women," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dictatorship.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.