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

Trump’s critics often accuse him of being or aspiring to be a strongman, or an autocrat, or even a fascist dictator. —Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024

One in five Americans think Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany, did some good things, a new survey has found. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

But to chortle with a murderous, anti-American dictator over a former vice president . . —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024

April 27: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump VP hopeful, comes under fire for detailing her decision to shoot a family dog and including a false anecdote about meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in her memoir. —Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 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