dic ‧ ta ‧ tor ‧ ship /dɪkˈteɪtəʃɪp $ -ˈteɪtər-/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable and countable] government by a ruler who has complete power
2 . [countable] a country that is ruled by one person who has complete power
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THESAURUS
■ an undemocratic government
▪ dictatorship [uncountable and countable] a political system or country that has a ↑ dictator (=a leader who has complete power and who has not been elected) :
Argentina was a military dictatorship until 1983.
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Hungary’s years of dictatorship
▪ totalitarian adjective [only before noun] used for describing countries in which ordinary people have no power and the government has complete control over everything:
totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany
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a totalitarian dictatorship
▪ police state [countable] a country where the government strictly controls people’s freedom, for example to travel or to talk about politics:
It’s like living in a police state.