as in tyrants
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the dictator had a fierce stranglehold on the country, keeping its people in poverty and ignorance
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Recent Examples of dictators
The Arab Spring movement in the 2010s didn't prevent the reemergence of dictators in the Middle East and North Africa.
—
Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Shih, the expert on Chinese elite politics, said many dictators, from former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to Mao, have eventually turned against their own proteges.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024
Personal loyalty is what dictators demand.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2024
By contrast, fleeing dictators tend to avoid democratic states and countries experiencing civil conflict’.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
More specifically, in Europe the top three destinations for dictators are Russia, the UK and France!
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
But in the early decades of the country's modern history, dictators and military juntas enforced martial law to squash political rivals and pro-democracy movements, often citing unsubstantiated threats from North Korea as the reason.
—Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 4 Dec. 2024
Its indictments against incumbent dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin have been laughed off.
—Eugene Kontorovich, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2024
His thinking is beyond the left, a strange thinking in terms of that line with all these dictators in the hemisphere.
—Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024
Michael Kugelman, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024
Shih, the expert on Chinese elite politics, said many dictators, from former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to Mao, have eventually turned against their own proteges.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024
Personal loyalty is what dictators demand.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2024
By contrast, fleeing dictators tend to avoid democratic states and countries experiencing civil conflict’.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
More specifically, in Europe the top three destinations for dictators are Russia, the UK and France!
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
But in the early decades of the country's modern history, dictators and military juntas enforced martial law to squash political rivals and pro-democracy movements, often citing unsubstantiated threats from North Korea as the reason.
—Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 4 Dec. 2024
Its indictments against incumbent dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin have been laughed off.
—Eugene Kontorovich, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2024
His thinking is beyond the left, a strange thinking in terms of that line with all these dictators in the hemisphere.
—Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near dictators
Cite this Entry
“Dictators.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictators. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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