1
as in arbitrary
exercising power or authority without interference by others
a dictatorial leader with total control over people's lives
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2
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
no surprise that the dictatorial manager is highly unpopular among employees
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3
as in arrogant
having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity
even the teachers chafed under the dictatorial rule of the principal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dictatorial
When someone has high drive and integrity that are not balanced by other character dimensions, these strengths can become dictatorial, forceful, uncompromising, belligerent, rigid, and dogmatic, among others.
—
Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Unlike Joseph Stalin, Putin has not maximized the state’s dictatorial potential.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 16 July 2025
The Big Beautiful Bill is supposed to revitalize our economy, but the president who asked for it is destroying that economy with his erratic, uninformed and ill-judged dictatorial outbursts.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 13 July 2025
Like all dictatorial regimes, the survival of the system and the maintenance of power is the Iranian government’s priority.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorial
Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Unlike Joseph Stalin, Putin has not maximized the state’s dictatorial potential.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 16 July 2025
The Big Beautiful Bill is supposed to revitalize our economy, but the president who asked for it is destroying that economy with his erratic, uninformed and ill-judged dictatorial outbursts.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 13 July 2025
Like all dictatorial regimes, the survival of the system and the maintenance of power is the Iranian government’s priority.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorial
Adjective
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And part of that structure is ensuring that the IRS consistently enforces the code without imposing arbitrary changes on certain taxpayers.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Both sides have also carried out arbitrary detentions, with SAF interrogating and beating dozens of Christians in 2024 and 2025.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Now, the same institutions once intimidated by authoritarian power have declared that a former commander-in-chief conspired to revoke the 2022 election, assassinate rivals, and eventually unleash street chaos to hold on to power.—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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Ray's father was a dissenter who was executed by the Major himself for his outspoken anti-authoritarian views, and Ray wants revenge.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Zane played the arrogant Cal Hockley, who was engaged to Jack's love interest, Rose (played by Kate Winslet).—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Hardly seems like enough to cow these arrogant companies into behaving, especially when their business model is so intrinsically tied to hoovering up other people’s information and creative work.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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This process includes questioning the logics and myths that uphold the status quo and calling out oppression as part of the struggle toward an anti-oppressive future.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Managers often grow more assertive (sometimes drifting into domineering).—
Dave Winsborough,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Also in the cast: Emmy winner Laurie Metcalfe, as Augusta Gein, the murderer's religious, domineering mother; Tom Hollander as director Alfred Hitchcock; Olivia Williams as the filmmaker's wife, Alma Reville Hitchcock; and Lesley Manville, as Gein's second murder victim, Bernice Worden.—
Chris Foran,
jsonline.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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On the other side of Nepal from autocratic China, India is a test case for how democracies are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to control online narratives.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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In competitive authoritarian regimes, however, there’s a constant push and pull between democratic and autocratic impulses.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This is how legal systems in despotic regimes operate.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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The Academy rules work for countries with democratic governments but not for countries with despotic regimes.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The citizens of Venezuela don't deserve to live under the tyrannical rule of Maduro or any of his henchmen!—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
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With Rome's descent under tyrannical rule, Lucius must step into the gladiatorial ring and fight like his father before him for survival.—
James Mercadante,
People.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorial. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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