dikˈtād.ə(r)ˌship, -ātə- also ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
( -s )
1. : the office or term of office of a dictator
2. : absolute authority or power
there should not be a dictatorship , that is, social choice conforming only to the will of one man — H.M.Somers
the exploitation of labor by industrial dictatorship — Roger Burlingame
3. : a form of government in which a dictator or small clique has absolute power without effective constitutional limitations
after the revolution the country became a dictatorship under a former army officer
: a despotic state
a war between a democracy and a dictatorship