dictator

noun

dic·​ta·​tor ˈdik-ˌtā-tər 

dik-ˈtā-

1

a

: a person granted absolute emergency power

especially, history : one appointed by the senate (see senate sense 1b) of ancient Rome

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)

Synonyms

• caesar
• despot
• führer
• fuehrer
• oppressor
• pharaoh
• strongman
• tyrannizer
• tyrant

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

The Atlantic published an article on Tuesday, Oct. 22 reporting that Trump, 78, brought up the Nazi dictator during a private conversation in the White House during his presidency. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024

Unfortunately, this was the 1980s, and Albania had long been sealed from the world under communist dictator Enver Hoxha, whose death in 1985 would lead to a democratic transition early the following decade. —Emily Soreghan, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024

Historically, fascism is a far-right, authoritarian political ideology often associated with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who rose to power after World War I and coined the term in 1919 to describe his political movement. —Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 16 Oct. 2024

Our freedoms cannot be yielded to a dictator, not even for one day; that day could last a very, very long time. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dictatour, borrowed from Latin dictātor, from dictāre "to say repeatedly, speak aloud words to be transcribed by another, issue as an order" + -tor, agent suffix — more at dictate entry 1

Note: Though formally a derivative of dictāre, the noun dictātor is attested perhaps two centuries earlier in Latin and may be an independent formation, though the model for it is not clear; the sense "issue as an order" of dictāre may reflect influence of dictātor. The form tictator used in the Old English translation of Orosius's Historiae Adversum Paganos had no subsequent use.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids 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

ˌdik-tə-ˈtōr-ē-əl

-tȯr-

adjective

dictatorially

-ē-ə-lē

adverb

dictatorialness noun