dictatorship

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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

3 a :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 of dictatorship from the Web

The deal essentially rewrites an arrangement that began in 1972, when a Freeport predecessor began mining operations there under an agreement with a military dictatorship that was comfortable with the United States.

— jon emont, New York Times, "Freeport to Give Indonesia a Majority Stake in Its Grasberg Mine," 29 Aug. 2017
Opening up the region known as Renca, short for National Reserve of Copper and Associates, will undo a decision by the military dictatorship three decades ago to safeguard resources and sovereignty.

— r.t. watson, Bloomberg.com, "Amazon Gold Dispute Heats Up With Lawmaker Threatening to Involve the Pope," 25 Aug. 2017
In his view, enslaving the Cuban people under an unwavering dictatorship for six decades is nothing and doesn’t merit sanctions.

— fabiola santiago, miamiherald, "Maybe Cuba ‘owes nothing’ to U.S. — but it does to the Cuban people," 22 Aug. 2017
Protesters in Durham, North Carolina, took matters into their own hands Monday night by toppling a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier with ropes—a scene evoking the collapse of Eastern European dictatorships.

— matt ford, The Atlantic, "Will Congress Remove Confederate Statues From the Capitol?," 17 Aug. 2017
His father was the Havana city treasurer during the Batista dictatorship, and his job was to collect the taxes from the mob casinos.

— steve chapple, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Dual citizen gives visitor an insider's tour of Havana, Cuba," 3 Aug. 2017
Mr Duterte reminisces fondly about the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and seems to crave dictatorial power himself.

— The Economist, "More money, less freedomSouth-East Asia’s future looks prosperous but illiberal," 18 July 2017
Yes, it is ruled by a megalomaniac dictator who enforces a cult of personality on his people, but for the most part, North Korea acts as rationally as an isolated military dictatorship.

— the tylt, cleveland.com, "Should the US use military force in North Korea?," 16 July 2017
In the late 1970s, when Brazil was still under a dictatorship, the country’s shipyards employed almost 40,000 people, according to Sinaval, an industry association.

— dom phillips, New York Times, "In Lula’s Shadow, Brazil’s Shipbuilders Struggle to Right Themselves," 13 July 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of dictatorship

see dictator

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1542

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dictatorship Synonyms

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

DICTATORSHIP Defined for English Language Learners

dictatorship

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noun

Definition of dictatorship for English Language Learners

: rule by a dictator : rule, control, or leadership by one person with total power
: a government or country in which total power is held by a dictator or a small group

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See words that rhyme with dictatorship Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dictatorship Spanish Central: Translation of dictatorship Nglish: Translation of dictatorship for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dictatorship for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dictatorship

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