Dictatorialize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To turn a government, organization or situation into one ruled by a single person with absolute, unchecked power
2. To cause something to be run in the manner of a dictator, with arbitrary and unaccountable authority
3. To impose autocratic control over a body or institution, stripping it of shared decision-making and checks

Etymology: "Dictatorialize" is a plain English formation: "dictatorial" (from Latin "dictator", a magistrate given sole command in Rome, plus the adjective suffix "-ial") with the verb suffix "-ize" added on top. The adjective "dictatorial" is recorded from the 17th century, and the verb follows the common pattern that turns an adjective into an action, meaning to make something dictatorial or to behave in a dictatorial way. The word is much rarer than its base. Its use is mostly confined to political writing and commentary, where it describes a government or leader gradually concentrating power and suppressing checks on it. Its root "dictator" carries the older Roman sense of an official appointed temporarily in an emergency, a role that was meant to end once the crisis passed.

Synonyms: dominate, tyrannize, autocratize, oppress

Antonyms: democratize, liberate, free