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
Lighting contracts that Glusberg’s company, Modulor, maintained with the dictatorship may have insulated the center from closure.
—
Daniel R. Quiles, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
With Iran's Supreme Leader confirmed to be dead after the attacks, some believe the decades‑long dictatorship could be nearing its end.
—Briseida Holguin, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
Then in January, the Iranian people by the millions took to the streets, demanding freedom and an end to the dictatorship which has tormented them since 1979.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Ultimately, civil war led to the fall of the Republic and the rise of dictatorship.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Daniel R. Quiles, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
With Iran's Supreme Leader confirmed to be dead after the attacks, some believe the decades‑long dictatorship could be nearing its end.
—Briseida Holguin, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
Then in January, the Iranian people by the millions took to the streets, demanding freedom and an end to the dictatorship which has tormented them since 1979.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Ultimately, civil war led to the fall of the Republic and the rise of dictatorship.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Ayatollah Sayyed Abdullah Behbahani and Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai used Islamic arguments to claim that even kings must be bound by law, and that tyranny was incompatible with religion.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Here as elsewhere, Schmitt’s rejection of the separation of powers, and the experience of fascism under Hitler, offer the right warnings.—
Cass Sunstein,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
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But this is a new world, and the ascendance of fascism can really pave the way for a product launch!—
Sarah Jeong,
The Verge,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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After all, the series largely avoids other topical issues of modern campus life, from freedom of speech restrictions to administrators kowtowing to autocracies.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
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Do these pictures stealthily undermine that brand of autocracy because Foto Estudio Luisita was a feminist enterprise where women made images of women?—
Bryan Barcena,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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 9 Mar. 2026.
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