police state

noun

: a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures

Examples of police state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The police state does not want citizens who know their rights. Nisha Whitehead, Orange County Register, 22 May 2024 So, too, does the largely motley resistance to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime issue, in part, from structures, much older than the current police state, that never allowed the people a voice. Robert Zaretsky, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2011 Although autocracies have long relied on various degrees of repression to support their objectives, the ease with which today’s authoritarian regimes can acquire this repressive capacity marks a significant departure from the police states of the past. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2020 In much the same way that Americans have opted into government surveillance through the convenience of GPS devices and cell phones, digital cash—the means of paying with one’s debit card, credit card or cell phone—is becoming the de facto commerce of the American police state. Nisha Whitehead, Orange County Register, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for police state 

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of police state was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near police state

Cite this Entry

“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

police state

noun
: a state in which the activities of the people are under the power of the government often acting through a secret police force
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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