dictatorship

American  

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

noun

• dictatorships
  plural

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.

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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

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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.

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Discover More

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were dictators.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dictatorships
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dictatorship

First recorded in 1580–90; dictator + -ship

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Compare meaning

How does dictatorship compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• fascism vs. dictatorship
• autocracy vs. dictatorship
• totalitarianism vs. dictatorship

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Explanation

A dictatorship is a government or a social situation where one person makes all the rules and decisions without input from anyone else. Dictatorship implies absolute power — one person who takes control — of a political situation, a family, a classroom or even a camping expedition. In government, a dictatorship leaves no room for input from anyone who is not the top guy or gal. The noun comes from the late 14th century Latin word, dictare, which means to "repeat or say often." In a dictatorship, one person keeps repeating the same command: "My way or the highway."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dictatorship dictatorships

He wound up fleeing to Spain, then in the grip of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, and spent the rest of his life in Iberian exile.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

Some protesters carried red carnations, a symbol of Portugal's 1974 revolution, evoking the peaceful military-led uprising that ended nearly five decades of dictatorship.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

The wealth of those who sit at the top of the secretive North Korean dictatorship is just as hard to pin down as the country's economic figures.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

But for decades after Brazil’s military dictatorship ended in 1985, openly identifying with the right carried a stigma.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

He read about the history of the Korean Peninsula, the reputation of the Kim family dictatorship, and his country’s status as an international pariah.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

“In 5,000 years, if you look back, there have been dictatorships, monarchies, autocrats, republics. Nothing is newer or more modern.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

But at the same time, even under the cruelest dictatorships, it has still managed to produce fine literature.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

There's a reason this protest streak runs so hot in South Korea, which only became a democracy in the late 1980s and is well-acquainted with political interference, dictatorships and military overreach.

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026

The United Fruit Company owned over 550,000 acres of Guatemalan land, largely thanks to its deals with previous dictatorships.

From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026

And thanks at least in part to those technologies, we’re seeing the tentative spread of democratic institutions in areas that have lived for years under dictatorships or near-dictatorships.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

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Related Words

• authoritarianism
• autocracy
• totalitarianism
• tyranny

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