as in tyrant
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignorance
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Recent Examples of dictator
Trump drew a direct line from the Easter weekend rescue operation to the January raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, framing both as proof of concept.
—
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
The delegation — the first since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March 2014 — was headed, symbolically, by Vyacheslav Nikonov, a lawmaker from Putin’s United Russia party and the grandson of Joseph Stalin’s Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
—Vladimir Kara-Murza, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2026
More like a memo from the dictator, telling gullible loyalists what to think.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
In January, the rapper published an essay in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his past anti-semitic behavior, such as praising Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler and even selling T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas.
—Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
The delegation — the first since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March 2014 — was headed, symbolically, by Vyacheslav Nikonov, a lawmaker from Putin’s United Russia party and the grandson of Joseph Stalin’s Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
—Vladimir Kara-Murza, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2026
More like a memo from the dictator, telling gullible loyalists what to think.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
In January, the rapper published an essay in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his past anti-semitic behavior, such as praising Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler and even selling T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas.
—Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictator
tyrant
Noun
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In the propaganda video, the narrator mentions the core Shiite religious figures Ali and Hussein, the first and third Shiite Imams, respectively, as well as the Battle of Karbala, a seventh-century uprising by Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, against a tyrant named Yazid.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
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Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant.—
Killian Baarlaer,
Louisville Courier Journal,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dictator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictator. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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