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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 dictatorshipb : a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated rising up against a military dictatorshipc : 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
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The Handmaid's Tale' Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel is about a young woman forced into sex slavery by the new ultra-religious military dictatorship that has overthrown the U.S. government and eradicated women's rights.
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The threat emanates from Putinism, a philosophy of dictatorship fused with kleptocratic economics.
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A brief aside: Marquette basketball in those days was indeed a dictatorship.
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Fernandez says as long as there’s a dictatorship — despite longtime leader Fidel Castro dying last year — no one in her family will visit the island.
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Yep, just your run-of-the-mill pro-dictatorship campaign.
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Older Cuban Americans who fought Fidel Castro or fled Cuba overwhelmingly voted for President Trump and a hard line against a dictatorship that in many cases cost them their families or their homes.
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The flotilla’s deployment had been extended for a month following rising tensions between the United States and the communist dictatorship in Pyongyang over a series of ballistic missile tests by North Korea.
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Venezuela's bishops' conference delivered a letter on Thursday to the pope that accused the government of being a dictatorship.
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
Other Government and Politics Terms
DICTATORSHIP Defined for English Language Learners
dictatorship
playDefinition of dictatorship for English Language Learners
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: rule by a dictator : rule, control, or leadership by one person with total power
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: a government or country in which total power is held by a dictator or a small group
Learn More about dictatorship
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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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