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
Brazil’s violent past has yet to be fully reckoned with, but this trial marks a historic departure from impunity, said Lucas Figueiredo, the author of several books about the country’s most recent dictatorship.
—
CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Advertisement The region’s left politicians have an understandable distrust of the police and military, having suffered under their heavy-handed tactics during the dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and elsewhere during the latter half of the 20th century.
—Christopher Sabatini, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
The act passed, 444 to 94, opening the path to Hitler’s dictatorship.
—Daniel Ziblatt, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2025
This was also a transformative period in Spanish history, just after the Franco dictatorship.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Advertisement The region’s left politicians have an understandable distrust of the police and military, having suffered under their heavy-handed tactics during the dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and elsewhere during the latter half of the 20th century.
—Christopher Sabatini, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
The act passed, 444 to 94, opening the path to Hitler’s dictatorship.
—Daniel Ziblatt, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2025
This was also a transformative period in Spanish history, just after the Franco dictatorship.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
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Just days after the sadness at Annunciation, the feeling outside the church of doing something was palpable, not the endless tyranny of hoping somebody else does something.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
6 Sep. 2025
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Due process is what stands between individuals and tyranny.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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At a time when contentious words dominate our conversations—think insurrection and fascism and fake news and woke—the need for dictionaries to chronicle and explain language, and serve as its watchdog, has never been greater.—
Stefan Fatsis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
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The game has been viewed as a tongue in cheek critique of military dictatorships, with references to fascism and colonialism.—
Dan Gooding
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Kremlin wants to turn Ukraine into another Georgia, where pro-Russian political actors have largely captured the state and are pushing the country toward autocracy.—
DARIA KALENIUK,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Sep. 2025
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Assayas addressed the timeliness of the Putin story in a world where autocracy seems to be relentlessly on the rise.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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