Meaning & use
dictatorial
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Controlling or domineering, giving orders and allowing others little freedom or choice, like a dictator.
Grammar: Can be compared: more/most dictatorial. Describes people, manners, or rule, often before a noun or after linking verbs.
Patterns
- dictatorial manner
- dictatorial boss
- become dictatorial
The new manager had a dictatorial manner that silenced every meeting.
No one dared question his dictatorial style of running the club.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to or characteristic of a dictatorship, a government led by a ruler with total power.
Grammar: Used before nouns such as 'regime' or 'rule'; this sense describes systems, not personalities.
Patterns
- dictatorial regime
- dictatorial rule
- dictatorial government
The country endured decades of dictatorial rule.
Protests called for an end to the dictatorial regime.
Word forms
| comparative | more dictatorial |
|---|---|
| superlative | most dictatorial |
Common combinations
- dictatorial manner
- Her dictatorial manner pushed the best staff to resign.
- dictatorial regime
- Sanctions were aimed at weakening the dictatorial regime.
- dictatorial style
- His dictatorial style left no room for discussion.
- increasingly dictatorial
- Over the years, the committee became increasingly dictatorial.
Synonyms and how they differ
- autocratic
- Autocratic stresses holding power alone without accountability; dictatorial adds the flavor of giving orders and crushing dissent.
- domineering
- Domineering fits bossy personal behavior in everyday life, not political systems.
- authoritarian
- Authoritarian describes strict obedience to authority; dictatorial is stronger, suggesting one-person rule.
- tyrannical
- Tyrannical emphasizes cruelty and injustice, while dictatorial emphasizes controlling command.
Opposites
Word family
- dictator noun
- A ruler with total power, or a domineering person.
- dictatorship noun
- Rule by a dictator; a country governed this way.
- dictate verb
- To give orders or say words for someone to write down.
- dictation noun
- The act of dictating; a test of writing down spoken words.
Practice
The coach's ______ approach left the players afraid to make any decision on their own.
Choose one answer.
An approach where one person gives orders and allows no choice is 'dictatorial'. 'Democratic' involves sharing decisions, which is the opposite; 'hesitant' and 'gentle' describe weak or soft manners, not controlling ones.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dictatorial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.