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
General Muhammadu Buhari, dictator of Nigeria, following a successful coup d'etat against Shehu Shagari.
—
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
The president’s critics have regularly compared his actions and rhetoric to those of dictators and authoritarian regimes.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 4 July 2025
Talks between Israel and Syria are ongoing, which would have been unthinkable during the reign of former dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose partnership with Iran and insistence that Israel hand over the Golan Heights to Damascus in exchange for normalization nipped any détente in the bud.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
The uniform marks him as a firefighter from the old regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 after a nearly 14-year civil war.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
The president’s critics have regularly compared his actions and rhetoric to those of dictators and authoritarian regimes.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 4 July 2025
Talks between Israel and Syria are ongoing, which would have been unthinkable during the reign of former dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose partnership with Iran and insistence that Israel hand over the Golan Heights to Damascus in exchange for normalization nipped any détente in the bud.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
The uniform marks him as a firefighter from the old regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 after a nearly 14-year civil war.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictator
tyrant
Noun
-
Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 July 2025
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Our tyrant locks up immigrants, comptrollers too, And sows chaos no matter the cost, so, what’s a public theater to do, To ensure that our democracy is not lost?—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictator. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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