dictatorship
noun
dic·ta·tor·ship
dik-ˈtā-tər-ˌship 
ˈdik-ˌtā-
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
… the statutory and constitutional constraints which distinguish a democracy from a dictatorship.—
Center for National Security Studies, et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 215 F.Supp.2d 94 (2002)
Center for National Security Studies, et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 215 F.Supp.2d 94 (2002)
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
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
Set in the lead up to Egypt’s 2011 revolution, which ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year dictatorship, the film was inspired by the real-life 2008 murder of singer Suzanne Tamim, and murky attempts to protect the powerful real estate tycoon behind her death, who has since been pardoned by Al-Sisi.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 Dec. 2025
Born in 1926 in Weimar Germany, where hyperinflation bankrupted his father’s business, the young Linz witnessed the breakdown of democracy and the onset of Hitler’s dictatorship.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Chileans have elected the most right-wing presidential candidate since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship over three and a half decades ago.
—Andra B. Chastain, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
Kast, 59, easily beat leftist presidential candidate Jeannette Jara, winning 58% of the vote and steering the South American country toward its sharpest rightward shift since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.
—Fabian Cambero, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
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Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 Dec. 2025
Born in 1926 in Weimar Germany, where hyperinflation bankrupted his father’s business, the young Linz witnessed the breakdown of democracy and the onset of Hitler’s dictatorship.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Chileans have elected the most right-wing presidential candidate since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship over three and a half decades ago.
—Andra B. Chastain, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
Kast, 59, easily beat leftist presidential candidate Jeannette Jara, winning 58% of the vote and steering the South American country toward its sharpest rightward shift since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.
—Fabian Cambero, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictatorship. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dictatorship
noun
dic·ta·tor·ship
dik-ˈtāt-ər-ˌship
ˈdik-ˌtāt-
1
: the office of a dictator
2
: rule, control, or leadership by one person with total power
3
: a government or country in which total power is held by a dictator or a small group
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