dictatorship
/ˈdɪktæɪtəʃɪp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.64 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
noun
A government which exercises autocratic rule.
noun
Any household, institution, or other organization that is run under such sovereignty or autocracy.
noun
Total authority, control, or domination.
Example Sentences
- "There were no elections during Franco's dictatorship."
- "His object, he declares, is not to set up a dictatorship but to achieve 'true democracy' by combating the idea of tolerance, on the ground that the vast majority cannot form right judgements when their minds are deformed by democratic sources of information."
- "It has had a deplorable effect in furnishing pretexts for the stifling of all independent philosophical thought and in establishing the party's dictatorship over science and culture in every sphere."
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 Proto-Germanic *skapjaną Proto-Germanic *-skapiz Proto-West Germanic *-skapi Old English -sċiepe Middle English -schipe English -ship English dictatorship From dictator + -ship.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɪktæɪtəʃɪp/
- British English: /dɪkˈteɪtə(ɹ)ʃɪp/