czarism

noun

variants or less commonly tsarism or tzarism
1
: the government of Russia under the czars
2
: autocratic rule
czarist noun or adjective
or less commonly tsarist or tzarist
ˈzär-ist How to pronounce czarism (audio)
ˈ(t)sär-

Examples of czarism in a Sentence

historically, during times of national crisis, people have looked to czarism as an answer to their fears
Recent Examples on the Web Like so many at the time, Paustovsky had hopes of a democratic future with the end of czarism. Douglas Smith, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022 Lenin, Stalin and their epigones, despite their ideological rejection of czarism, acted as de facto Great Russian imperialists in assembling the Soviet Union and maintaining it by brute force. George Weigel, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2022 The difference between czarism and Leninism is the one between absolutism and totalitarianism. Josef Joffe, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017 With the collapse of czarism, this commitment to gradual reform and the development of parliamentary institutions seemed outdated. Carolyn Harris, Smithsonian, 13 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'czarism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of czarism was in 1855

Dictionary Entries Near czarism

Cite this Entry

“Czarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/czarism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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