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
- dictatorially adverb
- dictatorialness noun
- nondictatorial adjective
- nondictatorially adverb
- nondictatorialness noun
- semidictatorial adjective
- semidictatorially adverb
- semidictatorialness noun
- undictatorial adjective
- undictatorially adverb
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
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.
Some in the business describe Janick, who’s married with three children, as a dictatorial boss unwilling to cede control to the execs leading the company’s various divisions.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
Away from the praise and the bright lights, however, members of the congregation described Brain as "manipulative and dictatorial".
From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025
Based on descriptions of dictatorial regimes over the past century, the distinction seems to be this: Totalitarianism is authoritarianism intensified.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2025
The AAU’s dictatorial control forced athletes into penury and enriched its leaders.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2025
I stuffed the remaining napkins back into the holder and then stood up to face mustachioed Stan, who was watching this unfold with unadulterated glee beaming off his annoying, dictatorial face.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
