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dictatorial

American  
[dik-tuh-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ˌdɪk təˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

  1. of or relating to a dictator or dictatorship.

  2. appropriate to, or characteristic of, a dictator; absolute; unlimited.

    dictatorial powers in wartime.
    Synonyms:
    totalitarian

  3. inclined to dictate or command; imperious; overbearing.

    a dictatorial attitude.
    Synonyms:
    autocratic, tyrannical, despotic
dictatorial British  
/ ˌdɪktəˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

  1. of or characteristic of a dictator

  2. tending to dictate; tyrannical; overbearing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • dictatorially adverb
  • dictatorialness noun
  • nondictatorial adjective
  • nondictatorially adverb
  • nondictatorialness noun
  • semidictatorial adjective
  • semidictatorially adverb
  • semidictatorialness noun
  • undictatorial adjective
  • undictatorially adverb

Etymology

Origin of dictatorial

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin dictātōri(us) (from dictā(re) “to say repeatedly, order, prescribe” + -tōrius -tory 1 ) + -al 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.