as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a revolution that only ended up replacing one dictatorship with another
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Recent Examples of dictatorship
But, even then, El Mercurio and other Chilean media downplayed his offenses and portrayed his dictatorship as a driver of a successful national economy.
—
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2026
Although American forces have arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and killed several Iranian leaders, removing the dictators has not dislodged the dictatorships in either Caracas or Tehran.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
According to researchers who participated in the study, the dictatorships in those countries blocked Gallup from conducting its surveys freely.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
The Pozo de Vargas is considered the largest clandestine mass grave of Argentina’s last dictatorship with the remains of 149 people recovered from the site.
—Débora Rey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2026
Although American forces have arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and killed several Iranian leaders, removing the dictators has not dislodged the dictatorships in either Caracas or Tehran.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
According to researchers who participated in the study, the dictatorships in those countries blocked Gallup from conducting its surveys freely.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
The Pozo de Vargas is considered the largest clandestine mass grave of Argentina’s last dictatorship with the remains of 149 people recovered from the site.
—Débora Rey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dictatorship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictatorship
Noun
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Establishing an entirely new and competing agency is merely the pursuit of a bureaucratic gravy train, and providing it with incentives to abuse power in order to boost its own coffers is an invitation to tyranny.—
Adam Summers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Yet, by God’s grace, my Hispanic grandparents immigrated to the United States on July 4, 1976, and have cherished the freedoms from tyranny that have come with living here ever since.—
Stephen Mitchell,
Baltimore Sun,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Her works explored Oedipal urges and creeping fascism.—
Laura Regensdorf,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2026
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Hungary had a very weak civil society after 70 years of totalitarian fascism and communism.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Oil and autocracy in Venezuela The currency of exchange between America and Venezuela is oil.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
3 Apr. 2026
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But in an autocracy with a leader who is quick to promote allies and punish dissenters, officials have far more reason to implement Xi’s policy preferences than to challenge them.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictatorship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictatorship. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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