dictator
Americannoun
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a person exercising absolute power, especially a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession.
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(in ancient Rome) a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.
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a person who authoritatively prescribes conduct, usage, etc..
a dictator of fashion.
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a person who dictates, as to a secretary.
noun
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a ruler who is not effectively restricted by a constitution, laws, recognized opposition, etc
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an absolute, esp tyrannical, ruler
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(in ancient Rome) a person appointed during a crisis to exercise supreme authority
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a person who makes pronouncements, as on conduct, fashion, etc, which are regarded as authoritative
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a person who behaves in an authoritarian or tyrannical manner
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dictator
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin dictātor, from dictā(re) “to say repeatedly, prescribe, order” ( see dictate) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A dictator is someone who has absolute power — or who at least behaves as if they do by bossing others around. In government, a dictator is a ruler who has total control over a country, with no checks or balances to prevent abuse of power. Dictator can also describe someone who acts like that on a smaller scale. When your sister is getting married and your mom makes her order roses instead lilies for the table arrangements and yells at you for addressing the invitations too slowly and insists that all of her coworkers be invited, she’s acting like a dictator.
Vocabulary lists containing dictator
You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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The Wednesday Wars
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Eastern Europe - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Protests also erupted in the 1960s over the participation of Spain under dictator General Francisco Franco, and Portugal under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
When the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu came to the UK in 1978, a memo from then-Foreign Secretary David Owen asked: "Who agreed to this visit? Did I? If I did, I regret it."
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
According to Winston Churchill, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin once sarcastically asked a French diplomat: “The pope! How many divisions has he got?”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
“After the dictator fell, gender expression should have been the natural extension of that kind of freedom. But there’s a kind of retaliation happening,” Zaalan shared.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
"Boo'ful's 'n ole dictator," she said to the driver, who looked at me silently, as though I were mad.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
