dictatorship
nounUK /dɪkˈteɪtə(ɹ)ʃɪp/ · US /ˈdɪkteɪtəɹʃɪp/
Etymology From dictator + -ship.
1
A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
2
A government which exercises autocratic rule.
- There were no elections during Franco's dictatorship.
3
Any household, institution, or other organization that is run under such sovereignty or autocracy.
- Synonyms
- absolutism, autocracy, despotism, tyranny
- Derived terms
- antidictatorship, codictatorship, dicktatorship, dictatorship of democracy, dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, dictatorship of the majority, dictatorship of the proletariat, narcodictatorship, nondictatorship, petro-dictatorship, postdictatorship, proletarian dictatorship, tin-pot dictatorship
- Related terms
- dictatorialism