dictatorship

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /dɪkˈteɪtɚˌʃɪp/ UK /dɪkˈteɪtəʃɪp/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
government by a single ruler with absolute power

The republic slid into dictatorship after the coup.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · government by a single... autocracy tyranny despotismauthoritarianismtotalitarianismabsolutism

Opposites

democracy republic self-government

Word family

Related forms dictator dictatorial dictate

Etymology

From Latin dictator ('absolute magistrate') plus the native English suffix -ship denoting state or office; dictator comes from dictare ('to dictate'), a frequentative of dicere ('to say').

dictator Latin dicere Latin *deyḱ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# dictatorship

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** dɪkˈteɪtɚˌʃɪp
**IPA (UK):** dɪkˈteɪtəʃɪp

## Meanings
1. government by a single ruler with absolute power

## Examples
- The republic slid into dictatorship after the coup.

## Synonyms
- autocracy
- tyranny
- despotism
- authoritarianism
- totalitarianism
- absolutism

## Antonyms
- democracy
- republic
- self-government

## Related Forms
- dictator
- dictatorial
- dictate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dictator
- Root: dicere
- Root: *deyḱ-

## Etymology
From Latin dictator ('absolute magistrate') plus the native English suffix -ship denoting state or office; dictator comes from dictare ('to dictate'), a frequentative of dicere ('to say').

## AI Etymology
Dictatorship is from Latin dictator ('absolute magistrate') plus the native English suffix -ship denoting state or office; dictator comes from dictare ('to dictate'), a frequentative of dicere ('to say'). The ancestry passes through Latin dictator, Latin dicere, and Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ-. In present use as a noun, it means "government by a single ruler with absolute power", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dictator, dictatorial, and dictate. Its contrast set includes democracy, republic, and self-government, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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dictatorship

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