totalitarian 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of totalitariannext
as in oppressive
controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed A totalitarian state that did not even allow outsiders to visit.

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totalitarian

2 of 2

noun

as in authoritarian

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of totalitarian
Adjective
The foundation’s goal is to memorialize those killed by communist regimes and pursue freedom for people still living under totalitarian rule. — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 17 July 2026 Navratilova defected from Czechoslovakia to the United States in 1975 at 18 years old, leaving a totalitarian regime to embrace American culture. — Makena Gera, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Noun
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare. — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019 Some of his most popular works were surrealistic fantasies set in grisly worlds run by totalitarians and conformists. — Fox News, 28 June 2018 See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
  1. oppressive
  2. authoritarian
  3. potentate
  4. autocrat
  5. dictator
  6. tyrant
Adjective
  • Resident's death under investigation The Middlesex County District Attorney's office, as well as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, are examining whether the oppressive heat played any role in the resident's death.
    — Kristina Rex, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The combination was as oppressive as the thermometer reading.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of oppressive
Noun
  • This was demonstrated in Hungary in April, when opposition leader Péter Magyar convincingly won an election against a long-ruling, right-wing authoritarian.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Sep. 2026
  • And the solution is simply to replace the corrupt, racist authoritarian with a governing party that respects the rule of law, equality, and basic decency.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of authoritarian
Noun
  • The main drama involves a rural teen-age tee girl who recognizes the resort’s president as the potentate who evicted her family from their land.
    — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
  • With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 26 June 2026
Definition of potentate
Noun
  • These innovations may reduce the number of bureaucrats autocrats need.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In other countries that have recently experienced democratic backsliding, such as Turkey and Hungary, installing loyalists in the judiciary and in government agencies has played a key role in helping autocrats consolidate power.
    — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of autocrat
Noun
  • Trump’s latest move aligns him with Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, the architect of the war in Ukraine.
    — Alfred H. Moses, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Lee came of age under the military dictator Park Chung-hee, who imposed a midnight curfew and strict censorship of everything from newspapers to pop songs.
    — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of dictator
Noun
  • Plato warned that an unhealthy democracy can easily fall prey to a tyrant.
    — Kenneth Michael White, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the rumors, and a few of the reports at the time, paint Khrzhanovsky as a tyrant who went mad with power, like Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness (or maybe Francis Ford Coppola making Apocalypse Now).
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of tyrant

Browse Nearby Words

totalism
totalitarian
totalitarianism
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Cite this Entry

“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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