Synonyms of dictators

dictators

noun

plural of dictator

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tyrants
• pharaohs
• rulers
• despots
• warlords
• oppressors
• strongmen
• tycoons
• kings
• leaders
• men on horseback
• princes
• overlords
• magnates
• autocrats
• monarchs
• caesars
• führers
• barons
• authoritarians
• potentates
• totalitarians
• dominators
• tyrannizers
• bosses
• lords
• caudillos
• masters
• czars
• sovereigns
• chiefs
• Big Brothers
• queens
• moguls
• captains
• monocrats
• kingpins
• enforcers
• paramounts
• autarchs
• taskmasters
• disciplinarians
• martinets
• discipliners

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dictators

For years, America’s conversation about the Middle East revolved around terrorism, stability, and the supposedly binary choice between friendly dictators and dangerous Islamists. — Ayman M. Mohyeldin, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026

Suffering from severe financial inequality and oppressed by the yoke of dictators and oligarchs, the people rise up and storm the seat of government. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

For years the company has rewritten its own rules, redesigned its products, and even bent to the demands of dictators to preserve market access. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026

The idea that the war was about democracy is disputed by the rise of dictators in Russia, Italy, Germany, Spain and France after the war. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026

Denis, who goes by Jan Mapou after his store, Libreri Mapou, has long been a fixture in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, a refuge since the 1970s for Haitians fleeing dictators and political unrest. — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

Military dictators have directly ruled Pakistan for nearly half the country’s history. — Hasan Ali, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2026

When elites are strong, dictators need to accommodate them, often by repressing outsiders to shield insiders from potential challenges. — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026

Trump has praised Communist dictators in terms unlike those used by any American president outside the context of a wartime alliance. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026