noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Australian:/ˈdɪktæɪtəʃɪp/
New-Zealand:/ˈdəktæɪtəʃəp/
Singapore:/ˈdiktetəʃip/
UK:/dɪkˈteɪtə(ɹ)ʃɪp/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˈdɪkteɪtəɹʃɪp/
CMU ARPABET:D IH0 K T EY1 T ER0 SH IH2 P
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A government which exercises autocratic rule.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
There were no elections during Franco's dictatorship.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Any household, institution, or other organization that is run under such sovereignty or autocracy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree English dictator Proto-Germanic *skapjaną Proto-Germanic *-skapiz Proto-West Germanic *-skapi Old English -sċiepe Middle English -schipe English -ship English dictatorship From dictator + -ship.
Across languages
Translations
94 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
diktatuur
— a government led by a dictator
Afrikaans:
diktatorskap
— a government led by a dictator
Albanian:
diktaturë
— a government led by a dictator
Arabic:
دِكْتَاتُورِيَّة
(diktātōriyya)
— a government led by a dictator
Arabic:
دِيكْتَاتُورِيَّة
(diktātōriyya)
— a government led by a dictator
Armenian:
բռնապետություն
(bṙnapetutʻyun)
— a government led by a dictator
Armenian:
դիկտատուրա
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Armenian:
բռնակալություն
(bṙnakalutʻyun)
— a government led by a dictator
Asturian:
dictadura
— a government led by a dictator
Azerbaijani:
diktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Azerbaijani:
diktatorluq
— a government led by a dictator
Belarusian:
дыктату́ра
(dyktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Breton:
diktatouriezh
— a government led by a dictator
Bulgarian:
диктату́ра
(diktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Burmese:
အာဏာရှင်စနစ်
(anahrangca.nac)
— a government led by a dictator
Carpathian Rusyn:
діктату́ра
(diktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Catalan:
dictadura
— a government led by a dictator
Chinese Mandarin:
獨裁 /独裁
(dúcái)
— a government led by a dictator
Chinese Mandarin:
專政 /专政
(zhuānzhèng)
— a government led by a dictator
Czech:
diktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Danish:
diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
Dutch:
dictatuur
— a government led by a dictator
Esperanto:
diktatoreco
— a government led by a dictator
Esperanto:
diktaturo
— a government led by a dictator
Estonian:
diktatuur
— a government led by a dictator
Finnish:
diktatuuri
— a government led by a dictator
French:
dictature
— a government led by a dictator
Galician:
ditadura
— a government led by a dictator
Georgian:
დიქტატურა
(dikṭaṭura)
— a government led by a dictator
German:
Diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
German:
Gewaltherrschaft
— a government led by a dictator
German:
Willkürherrschaft
— a government led by a dictator
German:
Cäsarenherrschaft
— a government led by a dictator
Greek:
δικτατορία
(diktatoría)
— a government led by a dictator
Hebrew:
דִּיקְטָטוּרָה
(diktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Hindi:
तानाशाही
(tānāśāhī)
— a government led by a dictator
Hindi:
अधिनायकतंत्र
(adhināyaktantra)
— a government led by a dictator
Hungarian:
diktatúra
— a government led by a dictator
Icelandic:
einræði
— a government led by a dictator
Irish:
deachtóireacht
— a government led by a dictator
Italian:
dittatura
— a government led by a dictator
Japanese:
独裁政治
(dokusaiseiji)
— a government led by a dictator
Japanese:
独裁
(dokusai)
— a government led by a dictator
Kazakh:
өктемдік
(öktemdık)
— a government led by a dictator
Kazakh:
диктатура
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Khmer:
អំណាចផ្ដាច់ការ
(ʼɑmnaac phdac kaa)
— a government led by a dictator
Korean:
독재
(dokjae)
— a government led by a dictator
Northern Kurdish:
dîktatorî
— a government led by a dictator
Kyrgyz:
диктатура
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Lao:
ລະບອບຜະເດັດການ
(la bǭp pha det kān)
— a government led by a dictator
Latvian:
diktatūra
— a government led by a dictator
Lithuanian:
diktatūra
— a government led by a dictator
Macedonian:
диктату́ра
(diktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Malay:
kediktatoran
— a government led by a dictator
Malay:
diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
Manx:
ardreillaght
— a government led by a dictator
Marathi:
हुकूमशाही
(hukūmśāhī)
— a government led by a dictator
Mongolian:
дарангуйлал
(darangujlal)
— a government led by a dictator
Mongolian:
ᠳᠠᠷᠤᠩᠭᠤᠶᠢᠯᠠᠯ
(darungɣuyilal)
— a government led by a dictator
Norman:
dictatuthe
— a government led by a dictator
Norwegian Bokmål:
diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
Norwegian Nynorsk:
diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
Occitan:
dictadura
— a government led by a dictator
Pashto:
ديکتاتوري
(diktātori)
— a government led by a dictator
Pashto:
ډيکټاټوري
(ḍekṭāṭori)
— a government led by a dictator
Iranian Persian:
دیکْتاتوری
(diktâtori)
— a government led by a dictator
Polish:
dyktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Portuguese:
ditadura
— a government led by a dictator
Romanian:
dictatură
— a government led by a dictator
Russian:
диктату́ра
(diktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Serbo-Croatian:
диктату́ра
— a government led by a dictator
Serbo-Croatian:
diktatúra
— a government led by a dictator
Slovak:
diktatúra
— a government led by a dictator
Slovene:
diktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Spanish:
dictadura
— a government led by a dictator
Spanish:
dictaduría
— a government led by a dictator
Swahili:
udikteta
— a government led by a dictator
Swedish:
diktatur
— a government led by a dictator
Tajik:
диктатура
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Tamil:
சர்வாதிகாரம்
(carvātikāram)
— a government led by a dictator
Tatar:
диктатура
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Telugu:
నియంతృత్వము
(niyantr̥tvamu)
— a government led by a dictator
Thai:
ระบอบเผด็จการ
(rá-bɔ̀ɔp-pà-dèt-gaan)
— a government led by a dictator
Tibetan:
སྲིད་དབར་སྒེར་འཛིན
(srid dbar sger 'dzin)
— a government led by a dictator
Turkish:
diktatörlük
— a government led by a dictator
Turkmen:
diktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Ukrainian:
диктату́ра
(dyktatúra)
— a government led by a dictator
Urdu:
آمِرِیَت
(āmiriyat)
— a government led by a dictator
Urdu:
تانا شاہی
(tānā śāhī)
— a government led by a dictator
Uyghur:
دىكتاتۇرا
(diktatura)
— a government led by a dictator
Uzbek:
diktatura
— a government led by a dictator
Vietnamese:
chế độ độc tài
— a government led by a dictator
Vietnamese:
nền chuyên chính
— a government led by a dictator
Yiddish:
דיקטאַטור
(diktatur)
— a government led by a dictator