dictator
nounUK /dɪkˈteɪtə/ · US /ˈdɪkˌteɪtəɹ/
Etymology From Latin dictātor (“a chief magistrate”), from dictō (“dictate, prescribe”), from dīcō (“say, speak”). By surface analysis, dictate + -or, literally “one who dictates”. Compare Old English tictator (“absolute ruler of the Roman Republic”).
1
An authoritarian leader of a country, nation, or government.
- The Dominicans had lived for thirty years under the iron-fisted rule of dictator Leonidas Trujillo. During those years, which ended with Trujillo's assassination in 1961, those who opposed Trujillo had three choices: to go into exile, to go underground, or to remain quiet. Most Dominicans had chosen the third course.1971, Lyndon Johnson, “A Time of Testing: Crises in the Caribbean”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 188:
- Dictator, noun : someone who doesn't let American CEOs dictate how their country is run2019, (Existential Comics), 29 January, 9:27 AM Tweet:
2 more examples
- "The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it was he didn't know it was there," Biden said. "That's a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn't know what happened. That wasn't supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off course," Biden said.2023 June 21, Trevor Hunnicutt, Ryan Woo, quoting Joe Biden, “China hits back after Biden calls Xi a 'dictator'”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2023:
- A monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin erected in Moscow's metro is stirring debate, with some Russians welcoming it as a historical tribute, but others saying it's a mistake to commemorate someone who presided over so much suffering.2025 May 22, “Monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in Moscow metro stirs debate”, in Reuters:
2
History, Human sciences, Sciences A magistrate without colleague in republican Ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the Senate, typically to conduct a war.
3
A tyrannical boss or authority figure.
4
Misspelling Misspelling of dictater.
- Derived terms
- antidictator, benevolent dictator for life, dictatoress, dictatorless, dictatorlike, dictatress, petro-dictator, quasi-dictator, tin-pot dictator, tinpot dictator
- Related terms
- dictate, dictatorial, dictatorship, dictatrix