Dictionary

dictator en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /dɪkˈteɪtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [-ɾəɹ] (General-American)
• /ˈdɪkˌteɪtəɹ/ (General-American)
• /ˌdɪkˈteɪtəɹ/ (General-American, dated)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti Proto-Italic *deikō Latin dīcō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -tō Latin dictō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin dictātorbor. English dictator 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”).

Meanings

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:
   • 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:
   • "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:
   • One of their book’s heroes is the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who overthrew the democratic Second Spanish Republic in the country’s 1930s civil war. The authors call him a “great man of history” and compare him to George Washington. They quote him on what doesn’t work against the unhuman threat: “We do not believe in government through the voting booth. The Spanish national will was never freely expressed through the ballot box.” 2024 August 5, Michelle Goldberg, “JD Vance Just Blurbed a Book Arguing That Progressives Are Subhuman”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2024:
   • Dictator, noun : someone who doesn't let American CEOs dictate how their country is run 2019, (Existential Comics), 29 January, 9:27 AM Tweet:
   • What dictators fear most is losing the support of the armed forces, and when this happens, it's as if a ferocious beast has lost its teeth. 2020 September 23, Shi Chuan, “When Police Officers No Longer Work for Dictators”, in Minghui, archived from the original on 13 Nov 2021:
2. 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. (alt-of, misspelling) Misspelling of dictater.
   alt of dictater

Forms

Deriveds

quasi-dictator · dictatress · antidictator · dictatoress · dictatorless · petro-dictator · tin-pot dictator · dictatorlike · tinpot dictator · benevolent dictator for life

Descendants

dikteta · ديکتاتور · ډيکټاټور · ڈِکْٹیٹَر

Relateds

dictatorial · dictate · dictatrix · dictatorship

Translations (128)

da diktator ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · cmn 獨裁官 /独裁官 ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · mn дарангуйлагч (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ug دىكتاتور (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · scn dittaturi ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · scn capurali (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · tr diktatör (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · az diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ar دِكْتَاتُور (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · uk дикта́тор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · mn ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠩᠭᠤᠢᠯᠠᠭᠴᠢ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ur آمِر (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · vi nhà độc tài (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · la dictātor (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · he דִיקטָטוֹר (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · af diktator (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · hu diktátor (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sk diktátorka (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · fa-ira دیکْتاتور (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · th จอมบงการ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sv envåldshärskare (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · hy դիկտատոր (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · lt diktatorius (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · scn rais (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · sh dìktātorica (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sw dikteta (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · af diktator ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · lo ຜູ້ຜະເດັດການ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sl diktatorka (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · mk дикта́торка (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sl diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · is einræðisherra (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · tl diktador (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · mk дикта́тор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ang tictator ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · hi तानाशाह (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sw dikteta (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · lv diktatore (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · nl dictator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · lo ຜູ້ບົ່ງການ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · fi diktaattori (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · be дыкта́тарка (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · gl ditador (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ro dictator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · my သက်ဦးဆံပိုင် (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · de Diktatorin (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · he דיקטאטור (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · eo diktatoro (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ur ڈِکْٹیٹَر (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · hi अधिनायक (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · ur تاناشاہ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · scn dittaturi (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · th จอมเผด็จการ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · vi kẻ độc tài (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sq diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sv diktator (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · ckb دیکتاتۆر (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · yi דיקטאַטאָר (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · gv ard-smaghteyder (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · mr हुकुमशहा (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · bn একনায়ক (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · fr dictatrice (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · uz diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · grc δικτάτωρ ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · ko 독재자 (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sh dìktātōrka (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · uk дикта́торка (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sq diktatore (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · th ผู้มีอำนาจ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ps ديکتاتور (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · pt ditador (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · nrf dictateur (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · da diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · gv ardreillagh (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ja 独裁者 (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · lv diktators (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · de Diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sh dìktātor (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · lt diktatorė (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · scn dittaturi (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · km អ្នកប្រើអំណាចផ្ដាច់ការ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ga deachtóir (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · kk диктатор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · is alræðismaður ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · cs diktátor (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · el δικτάτορας (tyrannical boss, or authority figure) · he רוֹדָן (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · tt диктатор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · hi अधिनायक (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ko 독재관 ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · pl dyktatorka (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ms diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ru дикта́тор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ar دِكْتَاتُورَة (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sh дѝкта̄тор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sv diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · my အာဏာရှင် (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · cmn 獨裁者 /独裁者 (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · pt ditador (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · pl dyktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · bvb öpippa (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · hy բռնապետ (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · la dictātor ((historical) Ancient Roman magistrate) · nb diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · id diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · es dictadora (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · be дыкта́тар (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · cs diktátorka (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · fr dictateur (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · et diktaator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sh дѝкта̄торица (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · el δικτάτορας (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · bg дикта́торка (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · it dittatrice (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · tg диктатор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · fi diktaattori (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sk diktátor (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · sh дѝкта̄то̄рка (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ka დიქტატორი (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · it dittatore (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · tk diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ps ډيکټاټور (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · bg дикта́тор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · pt ditadora (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · es dictador (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · af diktator (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ky диктатор (authoritarian leader of a dictatorship) · ru дикта́тор (tyrannical boss, or authority figure)