dictator
An authoritarian leader of a country, nation, or government.
Other meanings
A magistrate without colleague in republican Ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the Senate, typically to conduct a war.
A tyrannical boss or authority figure.
Related words
- antidictator
- dictatoress
- dictatorless
- dictatorlike
- benevolent dictator for life
- dictatress
- petro-dictator
- quasi-dictator
Word history
From Latin "dictātor" (a chief magistrate).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “dictator” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.