dictatorship
[dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-]
- 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.
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Origin of dictatorship
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dictatorship
Contemporary Examples
A second document was titled: “Gambia Reborn: A Charter for Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy and Development.”
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 2015Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
It simultaneously reveals the absurdity of dictatorship and gives comfort to those languishing under an impossible reality.
They backed him when the Sandinistas tried to establish their own Cuban-inspired dictatorship.
And my beloved Zimbabwe has sunk from a promising beacon into an abyss of greed and dictatorship.
Historical Examples
McClellan is now ripe for the dictatorship of the Copperheads.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863Adam Gurowski
The Socialist state will be a democracy, not a dictatorship.
SocialismJohn Spargo
From what Dad told me, he's trying to turn Oredan into a Dictatorship, with him at the head.
The Best Made PlansEverett B. Cole
From him, Barrent learned that Earth was believed to be a dictatorship.
The Status CivilizationRobert Sheckley
"Oh, good, that sounds like a dictatorship," Harkaman was saying.
Space VikingHenry Beam Piper
dictatorship
- 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
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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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dictatorship
Government by a single person or by a junta or other group that is not responsible to the people or their elected representatives.
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Note
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.