dictator Hear it!

dictator definition

dic·ta·tor (dik′tāt′ər, dik tāt′ər)

noun

  1. in ancient Rome, a magistrate with supreme authority, appointed in times of emergency
  2. a ruler with absolute power and authority, esp. one who exercises it tyrannically
  3. a person who orders others about domineeringly, or one whose pronouncements on some subject are meant to be taken as the final word
  4. a person who dictates words for another to write down

Etymology: ME dictatour < L dictator: see dictate

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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