dictatorial
adjective
Synonyms
- absolute
- arbitrary
- autocratic
- autocratical
- czarist
- tsarist
- tzarist
- despotic
- monocratic
- tyrannical
- tyrannic
- tyrannous
Example Sentences
Carsten Funke, Forbes, 25 July 2022 In 2018, the Night Wolves counted over 5,000 members, including Ramzan Kadyrov, the dictatorial leader of the Chechen Republic who has branded himself as a close ally to Putin. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 22 July 2022 Brazil suffered a military coup in 1964, resulting in a dictatorial regime that lasted until 1985. Grayson Quay, The Week, 13 June 2022 Stripped of its bureaucratic language and moral statement, this is a proposal for an enormously powerful, unelected commissariat to exercise dictatorial control over American politics. Grayson Quay, The Week, 13 Feb. 2022 Voters, many too young remember, were partly seduced by the 64-year-old’s misleading presentation of his late father’s dictatorial rule as a halcyon economic age to be revived. Time, 13 May 2022 These verbal ornaments give the actors something to work with, lines to inflect and emotions to contrive, as hectic distractions from the fact that their characters are purely puppets, pulled by the dictatorial strings of plot. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022 Argentina’s dictatorial leader, General Juan Manuel de Rosas, came to power in 1829 and consolidated his informal, extraconstitutional rule by 1835. Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022 Dogs' understanding of the absolute no may be connected to the structure of their packs, which are not egalitarian like those of the wolves but dictatorial, the center's researchers have discovered. Virginia Morell, Scientific American, 1 July 2015 See More Word History
Latin dictātōrius "of a dictator" (derivative of dictātor dictator) + -al entry 1
1587, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
dictatorial
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- authoritarian
- oppressive
- arbitrary
- autocratic
- despotic
- tyrannical
- domineering
- tyrannous
- tyrannic
- czarist
- totalitarian
- monocratic
- absolute
- autocratical
- tsarist
- imperious
- antidemocratic
- tzarist
- jackbooted
- sovereign
- omnipotent
- magisterial
- autonomous
- high-handed
- almighty
- antirepublican
- unconditional
- masterful
- all-powerful
- unlimited
- sovran
- self-governing
- self-ruling
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- limited
- constitutional
- democratic
- restricted
- lawful
- republican
- restrained
- circumscribed
Synonyms & Similar Words
- authoritarian
- domineering
- arrogant
- autocratic
- despotic
- tyrannical
- bossy
- overbearing
- tyrannous
- authoritative
- aggressive
- tyrannic
- commanding
- imperious
- controlling
- proud
- masterful
- peremptory
- autocratical
- stern
- regimental
- supercilious
- imperial
- dictating
- arbitrary
- haughty
- superior
- uppity
- important
- pretentious
- assumptive
- presumptuous
- disdainful
- directorial
- overweening
- narcissistic
- magisterial
- uppish
- high-handed
- huffy
- assertive
- omnipotent
- lordly
- high-and-mighty
- pompous
- presuming
- lofty
- conceited
- highfalutin
- hifalutin
- fastuous
- almighty
- self-asserting
- toplofty
- vain
- imperative
- toploftical
- high-hat
- all-powerful
- self-assertive
- firm
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- meek
- humble
- obedient
- modest
- docile
- unassuming
- amenable
- passive
- tractable
- indecisive
- submissive
- compliant
- irresolute
- acquiescent
- yielding
- resigned
Synonyms & Similar Words
- arbitrary
- authoritarian
- arrogant
- domineering
- imperious
- dominant
- unfair
- unreasonable
- autocratic
- inconsistent
- totalitarian
- high-handed
- despotic
- tyrannical
- peremptory
- wilful
- willful
- overbearing
- unjust
- commanding
- tyrannic
- tyrannous
- haughty
- capricious
- demanding
- unequal
- partisan
- erratic
- mercurial
- presumptuous
- whimsical
- imperative
- unprincipled
- unscrupulous
- inequitable
- biased
- masterful
- unrealistic
- prejudiced
- lordly
- autocratical
- changeable
- unethical
- unconscionable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- equitable
- impartial
- dispassionate
- disinterested
- equal
- fair
- rational
- reasonable
- balanced
- objective
- just
- moral
- evenhanded
- nonpartisan
- ethical
- unbiased
- honorable
- understanding
- unprejudiced
- irreproachable
- unimpeachable
- principled
- law-abiding
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of dictatorial are doctrinaire, dogmatic, magisterial, and oracular. While all these words mean "imposing one's will or opinions on others," dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.
While the synonyms doctrinaire and dictatorial are close in meaning, doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.
The words dogmatic and dictatorial are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.
The meanings of magisterial and dictatorial largely overlap; however, magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.
The words oracular and dictatorial can be used in similar contexts, but oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.