as in tyrants
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 dictators
Jesse Jackson was an ambassador of hope for the oppressed, who met with kings and queens and presidents and dictators and clergy of all the great religions.
—
Cbs Chicago Team, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Such torrential downpours, from loyalists and dissenters alike, often follow the deaths of notorious and long-ruling dictators—Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
But often those intentions stumble into a political quagmire where democratic dreams turn into civil war, once-compliant dictators become embarrassments and American soldiers return home in body bags.
—Tim Sullivan, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
In the post-colonial era, Arab dictators established secular laws, but these legal systems favored the ruling clique.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
That’s what dictators want to do.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
With a bottomless well of ideas, relentless encouragement, and a grin that only seems to widen by the season, the Wichita, Kansas, native runs TV’s most prolific reality competition series as the most benevolent of dictators.
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
Based in Boston, the international corporation networked with dictators and local officials in Central America, many Caribbean islands and parts of South America to acquire immense estates for railroads and banana plantations.
—Aaron Coy Moulton, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2026
Clues from his lawyer and ex-dictators Local nongovernmental organizations have said that the number of prisoners freed since Thursday ranges from 60 to 70, and have denounced a slow pace and lack of information surrounding the releases.
—Reuters, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Cbs Chicago Team, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Such torrential downpours, from loyalists and dissenters alike, often follow the deaths of notorious and long-ruling dictators—Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
But often those intentions stumble into a political quagmire where democratic dreams turn into civil war, once-compliant dictators become embarrassments and American soldiers return home in body bags.
—Tim Sullivan, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
In the post-colonial era, Arab dictators established secular laws, but these legal systems favored the ruling clique.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
That’s what dictators want to do.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
With a bottomless well of ideas, relentless encouragement, and a grin that only seems to widen by the season, the Wichita, Kansas, native runs TV’s most prolific reality competition series as the most benevolent of dictators.
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
Based in Boston, the international corporation networked with dictators and local officials in Central America, many Caribbean islands and parts of South America to acquire immense estates for railroads and banana plantations.
—Aaron Coy Moulton, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2026
Clues from his lawyer and ex-dictators Local nongovernmental organizations have said that the number of prisoners freed since Thursday ranges from 60 to 70, and have denounced a slow pace and lack of information surrounding the releases.
—Reuters, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictators
tyrants
Noun
-
At the time, Athens had just emerged from a period of dictatorship and some of his students had been among the tyrants who sought to take down Athens’ democracy.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
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All kings and tyrants fail in the end.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dictators.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictators. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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