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
Last Friday, Venezuela observed a national holiday commemorating the fall of a military dictatorship that ruled the country until 1958.
—
Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003) used the serial killer genre to explore the country’s transition from military dictatorship to democracy.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Confronting one of the darkest chapters in Argentina’s history, the 1985 play by Eduardo Pavlovsky, a psychotherapist, writer and actor, is about a man caught up in the systematic kidnapping of children during a military dictatorship.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003) used the serial killer genre to explore the country’s transition from military dictatorship to democracy.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Confronting one of the darkest chapters in Argentina’s history, the 1985 play by Eduardo Pavlovsky, a psychotherapist, writer and actor, is about a man caught up in the systematic kidnapping of children during a military dictatorship.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
The Declaration of Independence was meant to signal the rejection of tyranny and the empowerment of the individual to resist undue coercion.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
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History does not record many cases in which a power-mad leader careening toward tyranny suddenly regained his senses and became more moderate.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The southern United States under the Jim Crow system of segregation, for example, was governed by a form of racial fascism premised not on a single powerful leader, but on decentralized groups of vigilantes and terrorists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Jan. 2026
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That is really thuggish fascism.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Amodei’s essay covers a lot of ground, from existential threats to fighting autocracy to saving jobs.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Democracies, Amodei wrote, must move fast to outpace autocracies yet carefully to avoid catastrophe; China chip export controls, research into safe AI, and regulations on AI transparency will be vital.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
27 Jan. 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 6 Feb. 2026.
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