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

Correa is accused of participating in beatings, electrocutions and other forms of abuses while allegedly acting as part of a death squad operating under former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh. —Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025

The trouble with international prosecutions The ICC has a long list of outstanding arrest warrants, including for former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades before being deposed in 2019. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025

During last year’s presidential campaign, a roadside billboard in Miami that drew comparisons between Trump and dictators like Fidel Castro drew anger from supporters of the president. —David Catanese, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025

Where dictators of the past tried to impose a national ideology, today’s autocrats focus on projecting a sense of competence. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for dictator

• coater
• creator
• curator
• debater
• deflator
• dilator
• equator
• locator
• mutator
• piscator
• pronator
• relator

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