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
Driven by memories of past dictatorships, this urgent reportage-style film captures a night of chaos and powerful, collective citizen resistance.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 May 2026
Only the pigs take over with a dictatorship.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
The book was forbidden then, and the dictatorship threw the political storylines into stark relief.
—Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Yes, Syria’s Assad family dictatorship was overthrown and the country has been on an uneasy path to greater stability though the balance is precarious and unlikely to be helped along by the sudden repatriation of thousands of people.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 May 2026
Only the pigs take over with a dictatorship.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
The book was forbidden then, and the dictatorship threw the political storylines into stark relief.
—Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Yes, Syria’s Assad family dictatorship was overthrown and the country has been on an uneasy path to greater stability though the balance is precarious and unlikely to be helped along by the sudden repatriation of thousands of people.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
The American public is dismayed and frustrated that Congress is not stepping up to protect our nation against the extreme tyranny of this administration.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
Those divergent truths point to the sober reality that the vast majority of people who have existed on this planet lived under some form of tyranny.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Drawing on her everyday experiences as a single mother, her work addresses issues connected to the political domestication of women, authoritarianism and fascism, the patriarchy and capitalism.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
7 May 2026
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But these arrangements fell apart as fascism rose across Europe and Asia and regimes from Nazi Germany to Imperial Japan denounced their international legal obligations.—
Vivek Krishnamurthy,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Noun
-
If Magyar fails to fix the system and deliver results, a return to autocracy would be likely.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Since 2021, the state has been grappling with slowing economic output, weaning itself off a property market bubble, and trying to find a balance between promoting a free market and stock exchange within a one-party autocracy.—
Joseph Wilkins,Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Eight decades later, as nations inch toward despotism, an art animated by democratic impulses makes a stronger case for itself.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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