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Showing results for dictatorship. Search instead for directorships.
Synonyms

dictatorship

American  
[dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-] / dɪkˈteɪ tərˌʃɪp, ˈdɪk teɪ- /

noun

  1. a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

  2. absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.

  3. the office or position held by a dictator.

dictatorship British  
/ dɪkˈteɪtəˌʃɪp /

noun

  1. the rank, office, or period of rule of a dictator

  2. government by a dictator or dictators

  3. a country ruled by a dictator or dictators

  4. 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
dictatorship Cultural  

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

Discover More

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were dictators.

Etymology

Origin of dictatorship

First recorded in 1580–90; dictator + -ship

Compare meaning

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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.

In almost every movie about life under a dictatorship, there is a scene where the security services order someone to “show me your papers.”

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

A crowd into the tens of thousands gathered in Buenos Aires on Tuesday to mark 50 years since Argentina's military ushered in years of dictatorship with a coup on March 24, 1976.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Reid added that she was a social democrat who believed in "freedom of expression, free trade unions and free elections" and was not any sort of "admirer or apologist for the Chinese Communist party's dictatorship".

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

People who have lived under a dictatorship for almost half a century are forced to survive and rise within a sick system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Any dictatorship takes a psychological toll on its subjects.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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.