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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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for dictatorship
The first known use of dictatorship was in 1542
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