dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.
exercised dictatorial control over the office
magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.
the magisterial tone of his pronouncements
dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.
dogmatic about what is art and what is not
doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.
a doctrinaire approach to improving the economy
oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.
a designer who is the oracular voice of fashion
Example Sentences
He spoke with a magisterial tone. a magisterial biography of Thomas Jefferson that has never been superseded
Recent Examples on the WebThe fact that it's been covered by punk bands, lounge singers, and indie stars is further testament to its magisterial mystery. Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2022 And those cadenzas are magisterial — sometimes sinuously lyrical, sometimes churning and dense with double stops. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2022 Jeff Buckley, having learned the song through the Cale cover, created a haunting guitar version that has many admirers; his reading of the song is as gentle as Cale’s is magisterial, suggesting the fragility beneath its surface. Kevin Dettmar, The Atlantic, 1 July 2022 One scene shows them working side by side at the magisterial L.B.J. Presidential Library, in Austin. Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 30 June 2022 Her singing voice is a magisterial thing — epic and portentous, even a little scary. Owen Myers, EW.com, 30 June 2022 Throughline’s magisterial three-part miniseries on Afghanistan offers the long view of a country that Americans often treat as a threat, afterthought, or tragedy, particularly after the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military in 2021. Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 June 2022 The early magisterial Reformation, however, was not always consistent with its founding principles.WSJ, 19 May 2022 The spire of flowers, in its full glory, has long felt to me like a hint of regal splendor, and fittingly, this magisterial tree is called the Magnolia Elizabeth.BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Late Latin magisterialis of authority, from magisterium office of a master, from magister