dictatorship

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

See more synonyms for dictatorship on Thesaurus.com

noun

a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.
absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.
the office or position held by a dictator.

Origin of dictatorship

First recorded in 1580–90; dictator + -ship

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dictatorship

tyranny, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, autocracy, fascism, despotism, coercion, Nazism

Examples from the Web for dictatorship

Contemporary Examples of dictatorship

A second document was titled: “Gambia Reborn: A Charter for Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy and Development.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country
Jacob Siegel
January 6, 2015
He is a true advocate for human rights who has paid a horrible price for standing up against the Assad dictatorship.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015
Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
It simultaneously reveals the absurdity of dictatorship and gives comfort to those languishing under an impossible reality.
The Sony Hack and America’s Craven Capitulation To Terror
David Keyes
December 19, 2014
They backed him when the Sandinistas tried to establish their own Cuban-inspired dictatorship.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution
Nina Lakhani
November 30, 2014
And my beloved Zimbabwe has sunk from a promising beacon into an abyss of greed and dictatorship.
How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)
Todd Moss
September 9, 2014

Historical Examples of dictatorship

McClellan is now ripe for the dictatorship of the Copperheads.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski
The Socialist state will be a democracy, not a dictatorship.
Socialism
John Spargo
From what Dad told me, he's trying to turn Oredan into a Dictatorship, with him at the head.
The Best Made Plans
Everett B. Cole
From him, Barrent learned that Earth was believed to be a dictatorship.
The Status Civilization
Robert Sheckley
"Oh, good, that sounds like a dictatorship," Harkaman was saying.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for dictatorship

dictatorship

noun

the rank, office, or period of rule of a dictator
government by a dictator or dictators
a country ruled by a dictator or dictators
absolute or supreme power or authority

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

Word Origin and History for dictatorship

1580s, from dictator + -ship.

dictatorship in Culture

dictatorship

Government by a single person or by a junta or other group that is not responsible to the people or their elected representatives.

Note

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were dictators.