noun · formal
dictatorship
UK/dɪkˈteɪtəʃɪp/US/dɪkˈteɪtərʃɪp/dic·TA·tor·ship
a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique
Examples
“Under the dictatorship, political dissent was brutally suppressed.”
“Historians study how dictatorships arise after economic crises.”
“Living in a dictatorship often means limited civil liberties.”
Band 8 sentence
“The entrenched dictatorship crushed civil society, but international sanctions and internal protest eventually forced gradual political change.”
Collocations
- establish / overthrow a dictatorship
- military dictatorship
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'dictator' when meaning 'dictatorship'→dictatorship (the system) vs dictator (the person)
call any strong leader a 'dictatorship'→dictatorship only for a system with absolute power and suppression
Say it for a higher band
5autocracy→6tyranny→7+dictatorship
Synonyms
autocracy
tyranny
Easily confused
autocracy
“The country became an autocracy after the coup.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ship
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