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
The Republican Party, as an institution, weakened over time, until it could be hijacked by an aspiring dictator.
—
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026
Yoon is the first former South Korean president to receive a life sentence since late military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for his 1979 coup, a bloody 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju that left more than 200 people dead or missing, and corruption.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Aside from several e-mails where Epstein tries to arrange a meeting with the Russian dictator, few things pointed to him passing information to the Russians.
—Chop Choppish Shop, Air Mail, 21 Feb. 2026
The country’s longtime dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, had been overthrown, and a new order was being shaped under the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
—Nicolas Niarchos, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026
Yoon is the first former South Korean president to receive a life sentence since late military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for his 1979 coup, a bloody 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju that left more than 200 people dead or missing, and corruption.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Aside from several e-mails where Epstein tries to arrange a meeting with the Russian dictator, few things pointed to him passing information to the Russians.
—Chop Choppish Shop, Air Mail, 21 Feb. 2026
The country’s longtime dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, had been overthrown, and a new order was being shaped under the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
—Nicolas Niarchos, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictator
tyrant
Noun
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The lesson of history is that appeasement and hope are not a strategy against a bloodthirsty tyrant.—
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2026
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Aspiring tyrants inevitably promise security and food on the table.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dictator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictator. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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