dictator
noun
dic·ta·tor
ˈdik-ˌtā-tər 
dik-ˈtā-
1
a
: a person granted absolute emergency power
b
: one holding complete autocratic control : a person with unlimited governmental power
c
: one ruling in an absolute (see absolute sense 2) and often oppressive way
fascist dictators
2
: one who says or reads something for a person to transcribe or for a machine to record : one that dictates (see dictate entry 1 sense 1)
Examples of dictator in a Sentence
The country was ruled by a military dictator.
the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignorance
Recent Examples on the Web
Even Matyas Rakosi, Hungary's most brutal communist dictator, refused to move his office here, but Orban wants to play king, so the national gallery will eventually need to be moved out of the castle to make way for him.
—
Rob Schmitz, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025
The drawdown also comes after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
The 1991 Gulf War succeeded because the George H. W. Bush administration aimed only to expel Iraq from Kuwait and not to overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad was ousted last December.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictator
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Rob Schmitz, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025
The drawdown also comes after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
The 1991 Gulf War succeeded because the George H. W. Bush administration aimed only to expel Iraq from Kuwait and not to overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad was ousted last December.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictator
Cite this Entry
“Dictator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictator. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dictator
noun
dic·ta·tor
ˈdik-ˌtāt-ər
dik-ˈtāt-ər
1
: a person who rules with total authority and often in a cruel or brutal manner
2
: one that dictates
dictatorial
adjective
ˌdik-tə-ˈtōr-ē-əl
-tȯr-
dictatorially
adverb
-ē-ə-lē
dictatorialness
noun
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