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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Little surprise that the pair explore the wider context of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup triumph, namely the military dictatorship that sapped national pride and heaped enormous pressure on a team — one who’d stunk up the tournament four years earlier — to restore it.
—
Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships.
—Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 10 June 2026
Democratic change culminated in election in 1998 of President Kim Dae-jung, heroic opponent of dictatorship.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
The situation had grown so dire that there was serious discussion about whether to try dictatorship modeled along the lines of Benito Mussolini’s Italy or even Adolf Hitler’s Germany, where the Reichstag fire just a week before Roosevelt’s inauguration would be used to sweep aside democracy.
—New York Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships.
—Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 10 June 2026
Democratic change culminated in election in 1998 of President Kim Dae-jung, heroic opponent of dictatorship.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
The situation had grown so dire that there was serious discussion about whether to try dictatorship modeled along the lines of Benito Mussolini’s Italy or even Adolf Hitler’s Germany, where the Reichstag fire just a week before Roosevelt’s inauguration would be used to sweep aside democracy.
—New York Times, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
-
And if these institutions are not strengthened, no reporting—no matter how dogged—can arrest tyranny.—
Susan Chira,
Foreign Affairs,
2 Dec. 2025
-
Volodymyr Zelensky ⬆ The Ukrainian president has spent years playing a Churchillian figure on the world stage, defying tyranny with stirring words.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At the same time, PTA’s of-the-moment take on fascism and resistance could have slotted One Battle into the drama field, but the front-runner will make room for Sinners by competing as a comedy.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
5 Dec. 2025
-
This sense of visual jazz can be felt in scenes where handheld shooting was embraced, as in the film’s flashback scene in which Armando and his wife Fátima find themselves at odds with rising fascism during a fateful dinner.—
Marya E. Gates,
IndieWire,
25 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Tracking the interior dodging and weaving of his characters too, Fallada delivers valuable insight into the varieties of mental resistance to autocracy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Venezuela, like most autocracies in the Global South, must dismantle its current kleptocratic extractivism—the reliance on commodity export revenues for the personal enrichment of rulers.—
Javier Corrales,
Time,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The book circles political concerns that remain relevant today, including empire, caste prejudice, and the dangers of despotism and corruption.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
