dictatorship
/ˈdɪktæɪtəʃɪp/noun
dictatorship is spelled D-I-C-T-A-T-O-R-S-H-I-P: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dictatorship means “A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dictatorship is dictatorships.
How many letters and syllables are in dictatorship?
| Letters | 12: D-I-C-T-A-T-O-R-S-H-I-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.4 times per million words; the 12,216th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dictatorship?
Dictatorship appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dictatorship?
- Australia /ˈdɪktæɪtəʃɪp/
- /ˈdəktæɪtəʃəp/
- /ˈdiktetəʃip/
Dictatorship has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dictatorship.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dictatorship
- dictatorships plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dictatorship mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
- 2
A government which exercises autocratic rule.
There were no elections during Franco's dictatorship.
- 3
Any household, institution, or other organization that is run under such sovereignty or autocracy.
- 4
Total authority, control, or domination.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dictatorship in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a government led by a dictator:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dictature |
| German | Diktatur, Gewaltherrschaft, Willkürherrschaft, Cäsarenherrschaft |
| Portuguese | ditadura |
| Spanish | dictadura, dictaduría |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.