dictatorial
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a dictator or dictatorship.
-
appropriate to, or characteristic of, a dictator; absolute; unlimited.
dictatorial powers in wartime.
- Synonyms:
- totalitarian
-
inclined to dictate or command; imperious; overbearing.
a dictatorial attitude.
- Synonyms:
- autocratic, tyrannical, despotic
adjective
-
of or characteristic of a dictator
-
tending to dictate; tyrannical; overbearing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dictatorial
First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin dictātōri(us) (from dictā(re) “to say repeatedly, order, prescribe” + -tōrius -tory 1 ) + -al 1
Vocabulary lists containing dictatorial
Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List
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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.
But on U.S. television, the ad feels more desperate than dictatorial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Günter is attracted to Freud’s science of the mind because he believes that it alleviates unhappiness, but he is learning that the analyst can be distant and dictatorial, like some all-knowing but uncaring deity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Cyber Partisans describes itsself as "a highly organised hacktivist collective that is fighting for the liberation of Belarus from dictatorial rule".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025
Since his temperament is dictatorial by nature, much of his agenda is naturally autocratic.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2025
But the eat-sleep routine I had begun in the hospital, and kept up under Mother’s dictatorial command, got the better of me.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
