dictatorial

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English dictator

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālisder.

Old French -ialder.

Middle English -ial

English -ial

English dictatorial

From dictator + -ial.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): [dɪktəˈtɔːɹɪəɫ]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːɹiəl

Adjective

dictatorial (comparative more dictatorial, superlative most dictatorial)

1. of or pertaining to a dictator
2. in the manner of a dictator, usually with callous disregard for others.
   • 1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 202–203:

     "It was chiefly on account of his father," replied the Doctor, addressing the General, "that Philimore persevered in so rigidly keeping the secret of his attachment, having been once told by him, in the language of worldly dictatorial authority, that he would sooner follow him to the grave than that he should see him marry without fortune […]

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:bossy and arrogant

Derived terms

• dictatorialism
• dictatoriality
• dictatorially
• dictatorialness
• nondictatorial
• postdictatorial
• undictatorial

Translations

of or pertaining to a dictator

• Armenian: բռնապետական (hy) (bṙnapetakan)
• Belarusian: дыкта́тарскі (dyktátarski)
• Catalan: dictatorial (ca)
• Finnish: diktaattori-, diktaattorin
• French: dictatorial (fr)
• Galician: ditatorial
• Georgian: დიქტატორიული (dikṭaṭoriuli)
• German: diktatorisch (de)
• Greek: δικτατορικός (el) (diktatorikós)
• Hungarian: diktátori (hu)
• Manx: ardreillagh, ard-smaghtagh
• Marathi: हुकूमशाही (hukūmśāhī)
• Polish: dyktatorski (pl)
• Portuguese: ditatorial (pt)
• Russian: дикта́торский (ru) (diktátorskij)
• Swedish: diktatorisk (sv)
• Ukrainian: дикта́торський (dyktátorsʹkyj)

in the manner of a dictator

• Catalan: dictatorial (ca)
• Finnish: diktaattorin, diktaattorimainen
• Georgian: დიქტატორიული (dikṭaṭoriuli)
• German: diktatorisch (de)
• Greek: δικτατορικός (el) (diktatorikós)
• Hungarian: diktatórikus (hu)
• Latin: imperiōsus
• Portuguese: ditatorial (pt)
• Spanish: dictatorial (es), de ordeno y mando
• Swedish: diktatorisk (sv)
• Ukrainian: дикта́торський (dyktátorsʹkyj)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [dik.tə.tu.ɾiˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [dik.tə.to.ɾiˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [dik.ta.to.ɾiˈal]

Adjective

dictatorial m or f (masculine and feminine plural dictatorials)

1. dictatorial

Related terms

• dictador

Further reading

• “dictatorial”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “dictatorial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “dictatorial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “dictatorial”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

French

Etymology

From dictateur +‎ -ial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dik.ta.tɔ.ʁjal/

Adjective

dictatorial (feminine dictatoriale, masculine plural dictatoriaux, feminine plural dictatoriales)

1. dictatorial

Further reading

• “dictatorial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Portuguese

Adjective

dictatorial m or f (plural dictatoriaes)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of ditatorial

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French dictatorial. By surface analysis, dictator +‎ -ial.

Adjective

dictatorial m or n (feminine singular dictatorială, masculine plural dictatoriali, feminine/neuter plural dictatoriale)

1. dictatorial

Declension

Declension of dictatorial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	dictatorial		dictatorială	dictatoriali	dictatoriale
	definite	dictatorialul		dictatoriala	dictatorialii	dictatorialele
genitive- dative	indefinite	dictatorial		dictatoriale	dictatoriali	dictatoriale
	definite	dictatorialului		dictatorialei	dictatorialilor	dictatorialelor

Spanish

Etymology

Formed from Latin dictator and the suffix -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diɡtatoˈɾjal/ [d̪iɣ̞.t̪a.t̪oˈɾjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: dic‧ta‧to‧rial

Adjective

dictatorial m or f (masculine and feminine plural dictatoriales)

1. dictatorial

Derived terms

• antidictatorial
• dictatorialmente

Related terms

• dictador

Further reading

• “dictatorial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025