dictatorial

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
And because many of our governments are quite dictatorial, they need really to have the army clobber the opposition.

View all »
Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Tending to dictate; domineering.
  2. adjective Of, relating to, or characteristic of a dictator or dictatorship; autocratic.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: dictatorial, authoritarian, dogmatic, doctrinaire, imperious, overbearing
    These adjectives mean asserting or tending to assert one's authority or to impose one's will on others. Dictatorial stresses the highhanded, peremptory manner characteristic of a dictator: ordered the staff about in her usual dictatorial manner.
    Authoritarian implies the expectation of unquestioning obedience: the timid child of authoritarian parents.
    Dogmatic suggests the imposing of one's will or opinion as though these were beyond challenge: "When people are least sure, they are often most dogmatic” (John Kenneth Galbraith).
    Doctrinaire implies the imposition of one's theories, beliefs, or doctrines: "They didn't know the facts . . . and I don't think it would've mattered in the slightest if they had. Very doctrinaire” (George V. Higgins).
    Imperious suggests the arrogant manner of one accustomed to commanding: dismissed my opinion with an imperious gesture.
    Overbearing implies a tendency to be oppressively or rudely domineering: an overbearing customer demanding to see the manager.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • And because many of our governments are quite dictatorial, they need really to have the army clobber the opposition. —  Andrew Mwenda takes a new look at Africa
  • She gave him a good frown for being so dictatorial, then did as he commanded. —  Garwood, Julie - The Gift
  • Far from continuing my standard critique of our Constitution, I confess that I see no magic solution to the problem of de-facto "dictatorial" aspects of modern government. —  Balkinization
  • None of the governments of OECD nations would survive politically if they tried to introduce dictatorial or even post-war type emergency powers to respond to the threat of global warming.
  • Then the alleged President Soetoro (alias Obama) bows to the corrupt, dictatorial, Christian persecutor King —  ProLifeBlogs
More examples »
 

Tags

dictatorial hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 160 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French dictatorial; as dictatory + -al.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/dɪktəˈtoʊriəl/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a month.

Recently looked up

Termed · marts · martian · coerce · fumes

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

settii · aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile · an sionnach i gcraiceann na caorach · lavar puercos con jabón es perder tiempo y jabón · procrastinate