dictator vs tyrant

dictator

noun
  • A tyrannical boss or authority figure. 

  • A person who dictates text (e.g. letters to a clerk). 

  • A totalitarian leader of a country, nation, or government. 

  • A magistrate without colleague in republican Ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the senate (legislature), typically to conduct a war. 

tyrant

noun
  • A despot; a ruler who governs unjustly, cruelly, or harshly. 

  • A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession. 

  • A villain; a person or thing who uses strength or violence to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly. 

  • Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly. 

  • The tyrant birds, members of the family Tyrannidae, which often fight or drive off other birds which approach their nests. 

adj
  • Tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant. 

How often have the words dictator and tyrant occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )