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
The 63-year-old NBA commissioner who came up under the fire-breathing David Stern, and who has chosen diplomacy over dictatorship since taking over in 2014, doesn’t typically stick his chest out when discussing such matters of governance.
—
Sam Amick, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Many laypeople associate the word authoritarianism with military dictatorships and totalitarian rule.
—Karrin Vasby Anderson, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
No, a dictatorship is not the same as democracy.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
Lee’s father is a former intelligence officer under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Sam Amick, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Many laypeople associate the word authoritarianism with military dictatorships and totalitarian rule.
—Karrin Vasby Anderson, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
No, a dictatorship is not the same as democracy.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
Lee’s father is a former intelligence officer under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
The tyranny of any minority cannot and must not be allowed to stifle discussion and rule over our land.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Though officially prohibited, Western movies, music and television circulated widely as contraband and highlighted themes like resistance to tyranny and the moral superiority of the West.—
Ilan Berman,
Forbes.com,
16 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
-
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 17 Sep. 2025.
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