as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a revolution that only ended up replacing one dictatorship with another
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Recent Examples of dictatorship
The White House believes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is calling the shots, a significant change from the theocratic dictatorship that has existed since the country's 1979 revolution.
—
Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Where the Silence Is Heard follows her journey of renovating the house and piecing together her family’s history, which has been colored by the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, exile, and decades of silence.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Mar. 2026
Roig had taken part in one of the most famous sit-ins in Catalonia during the years before the end of the dictatorship, La Caputxinada.
—Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
For generations, the Cuban dictatorship has repressed those who speak out for freedom.
—- Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Where the Silence Is Heard follows her journey of renovating the house and piecing together her family’s history, which has been colored by the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, exile, and decades of silence.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Mar. 2026
Roig had taken part in one of the most famous sit-ins in Catalonia during the years before the end of the dictatorship, La Caputxinada.
—Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
For generations, the Cuban dictatorship has repressed those who speak out for freedom.
—- Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
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Cutié, 56, knows about the tyranny many Cubans have lived under.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
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Was her exclusion from the political world not its own kind of tyranny?—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hungary had a very weak civil society after 70 years of totalitarian fascism and communism.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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This form evolved in the 20th century to address Marxism, fascism and class struggle, challenging traditional narratives through activism and experimental techniques.—
Jane M. Saks,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Researchers argued that career anxiety under autocracy creates both pro-regime henchmen and anti-regime plotters.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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For example, in the 1930s, four major democracies (Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain) became autocracies.—
Ray Dalio,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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