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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dictatorship
President Javier Milei’s government has called for a broader account that also includes victims of left-wing guerrilla violence, which some suggest is a way to minimize the crimes of the dictatorship.
—
Juan Melamed, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Could Iran end up like Libya, where a NATO air campaign in 2011 helped topple a decades-old dictatorship, but paved the way for the disintegration of the Libyan state into a thicket of rival factions and warring militias?
—Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
The accession of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in early March completed a decades-long process, solidifying the transformation of the Islamic Republic of Iran from a theocracy into a de facto military dictatorship.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
But, even then, El Mercurio and other Chilean media downplayed his offenses and portrayed his dictatorship as a driver of a successful national economy.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Juan Melamed, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Could Iran end up like Libya, where a NATO air campaign in 2011 helped topple a decades-old dictatorship, but paved the way for the disintegration of the Libyan state into a thicket of rival factions and warring militias?
—Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
The accession of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in early March completed a decades-long process, solidifying the transformation of the Islamic Republic of Iran from a theocracy into a de facto military dictatorship.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
But, even then, El Mercurio and other Chilean media downplayed his offenses and portrayed his dictatorship as a driver of a successful national economy.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
Of course, the titular Boys will try their best to end his tyranny.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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But his stance against the president’s tyranny is a call to action in the same vein as John Paul II’s exhortation to the free world to oppose the Soviet empire.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Post-fascism doesn’t involve paramilitaries or do away with elections outright.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
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Eventually, that nativist turn would take America into a series of constitutional crises and to the edge of some American version of fascism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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Oil and autocracy in Venezuela The currency of exchange between America and Venezuela is oil.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
3 Apr. 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 15 Apr. 2026.
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