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
For a president intent on the further centralization of executive power, or even establishing a dictatorship, protest suppression provides multiple opportunities and pitfalls.
—
Jeremy Pressman, The Conversation, 15 June 2025
The only no votes on the measure to condemn Iran for refusing inspections and accountability to the IAEA were, of course, Russia and China, along with Burkina Faso, an unstable African dictatorship.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 June 2025
Even some Republicans appear to oppose the concept, likening it to the sort of maneuver one sees in dictatorships abroad.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 June 2025
Anyone familiar with the history of dictatorships might find this idea disingenuous.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Jeremy Pressman, The Conversation, 15 June 2025
The only no votes on the measure to condemn Iran for refusing inspections and accountability to the IAEA were, of course, Russia and China, along with Burkina Faso, an unstable African dictatorship.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 June 2025
Even some Republicans appear to oppose the concept, likening it to the sort of maneuver one sees in dictatorships abroad.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 June 2025
Anyone familiar with the history of dictatorships might find this idea disingenuous.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
This position does not mean in any way ignoring four decades of mismanagement, corruption, oppression, tyranny and incompetence of the Islamic Republic.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
18 June 2025
-
Ever since America’s founders decided that the best way to prevent tyranny was to diffuse power across branches of government, those branches of government have competed for authority.—
Jacob Turcotte,
Christian Science Monitor,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Baker reaches from Virginia’s slaveholding history to the poet Ezra Pound’s deluded post–World War II fascism to the misogynistic trolls of Gamergate in her quest to understand Unite the Right.—
Book Marks
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
-
Seen as a metaphor for fascism, authoritarian threats and other abuses of power, the script has experienced a resurgence recently.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
18 June 2025
Noun
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These distinctions also reveal shifts in the same autocracy over time.—
ELIZABETH N. SAUNDERS,
Foreign Affairs,
16 June 2025
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The world is lurching toward autocracy, with alarming speed.—
Elisa Manfredini,
Time,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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