dictatorship

noun

dik-ˈtā-tər-ˌship How to pronounce dictatorship (audio)
Definition of dictatorshipnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dictatorship After 33 years spent in Italy, Mariano Guerra, an Italian doctor, returns to Argentina to testify at the trial against the former military officers who abducted, tortured and enslaved him during the military dictatorship. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026 The movie follows an Italian doctor, Mariano Guerra, who returns to Argentina after 33 years to testify at the trial against the former military officers who abducted, tortured, and enslaved him during the military dictatorship. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026 In 2021, the SAF and RSF worked together to overthrow the civilian Cabinet that was overseeing Sudan’s transition to democracy after 30 years of dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir. — Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 Not by tightening the siege on Iran directly, but by tightening the siege on those who help this regime, this terrible dictatorship. — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
  1. tyranny
  2. fascism
  3. autocracy
  4. despotism
Noun
  • With neither reality nor imagination offering an escape from tyranny, the film asks whether hope, memory and love can persevere when war threatens to extinguish them all.
    — Alexandra Patterson, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Now, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have thwarted that tyranny even more profoundly, by devising an ultra-fast way to steer light, using light itself as the steering wheel.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of tyranny
Noun
  • And yet, amid their country’s slide into fascism, these folks persisted — for a while longer, at least.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The film starts in Paris but Taro’s story begins in her native Leipzig in 1932, where Gerta Pohorylle, as she is then known, is a young woman whose political conscience is awakened by the rise of fascism.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of fascism
Noun
  • But each case demands attention from European and British police and intelligence agencies, which are already dealing with a range of similar threats from other autocracies such as China and Russia.
    — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The transition from republic to autocracy is narrated through (imagined) letters and journals of his closest advisors, friends, and family.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of autocracy
Noun
  • The nation which will not adopt an equilibrium of power must adopt a despotism.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • His dream was nothing less than a new reality, a hopeful future free of despotism, ruled by equality and liberty, rather than kings and queens.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of despotism

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dictatorship
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Cite this Entry

“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dictatorship

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dictatorship

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