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View synonyms for dictator

dictator

[ dik-tey-ter, dik-tey-ter ]

noun

  1. a person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession.
  2. (in ancient Rome) a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.
  3. a person who authoritatively prescribes conduct, usage, etc.:

    a dictator of fashion.

  4. a person who dictates, as to a secretary.


dictator

/ dɪkˈteɪtə; dɪkˈteɪtrɪs; ˈdɪktətrɪks /

noun

    1. a ruler who is not effectively restricted by a constitution, laws, recognized opposition, etc
    2. an absolute, esp tyrannical, ruler
  1. (in ancient Rome) a person appointed during a crisis to exercise supreme authority
  2. a person who makes pronouncements, as on conduct, fashion, etc, which are regarded as authoritative
  3. a person who behaves in an authoritarian or tyrannical manner
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • dictatress, noun:feminine
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dictator1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin dictātor, from dictā(re) “to say repeatedly, prescribe, order” ( dictate ) + -tor -tor
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Example Sentences

In the case of Mischief’s Putin and Kim deepfakes, however, the actors have remained anonymous for “personal security reasons,” the team said, because of the controversial nature of manipulating the images of dictators.

A majority of the years when I lived there and in their lifetime, it was ruled by a dictator.

From Ozy

Either out of the chaos in the absence of a fallen dictator, it’s conceivable that a person like Svetlana could come to power.

From Ozy

If hundreds of thousands of people get in the streets and won’t go home, it becomes harder and harder for a dictator to hold on.

From Ozy

I do not mind the fact that he sat down with dictators like Kim Jong-un.

You were basically the guy to do every dictator or crazy character, from Gaddafi and Ahmadinejad to Bin Laden.

And for Larry Flynt, this might be a monumental opportunity to stick it to the dictator the best way he knows how.

And, the Chilbosan would make a hell of a comedy movie; “Fawlty Towers” meets the “Great Dictator.”

He added, “We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States.”

MIAMI — Fidel Castro seized power in January 1959 after waging a guerilla war against then-dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The dictator Tubertus Posthumus gained a victory over the qui and Volsci, inconsiderable but noxious enemies of the commonwealth.

Civil war in Paris; barricades erected, and a terrible slaughter of the people; general Cavaignac declared dictator.

Mazzini was made a Triumvir, and henceforth became little less than dictator.

Pallavicino, the pro-dictator, Manin's old co-worker and Garibaldi's friend, courteously appealed to him to leave.

At the head of the group stood Goethe, who was then the dictator of public opinion in esthetic questions.

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