absolutism

noun

ab·​so·​lut·​ism ˈab-sə-ˌlü-ˌti-zəm 

1

a

: a political theory that absolute power should be vested in one or more rulers

b

: government by an absolute ruler or authority : despotism

2

: advocacy of a rule by absolute standards or principles

3

: an absolute standard or principle

absolutist

ˈab-sə-ˌlü-tist 

noun or adjective

absolutistic

ˌab-sə-(ˌ)lü-ˈti-stik 

adjective

Synonyms

• autarchy
• authoritarianism
• autocracy
• Caesarism
• czarism
• tsarism
• tzarism
• despotism
• dictatorship
• totalism
• totalitarianism
• tyranny

Examples of absolutism in a Sentence

concerning absolutism Lord Acton famously observed that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Recent Examples on the Web

The political absolutism of Sartre was a way of asserting fearlessness: Nothing, not even the presence of the U.S. Army, can intimidate me! —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

But by the early seventeenth century the sovereigns of Britain, France, and elsewhere had begun to erode this medieval constitutionalism in favor of a new absolutism. —Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024

The selection of Vance clarified the party’s absolutism. —Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 18 July 2024

Like some other Republican senators of his generation (Tom Cotton, of Arkansas; Josh Hawley, of Missouri; and Marco Rubio, of Florida, among them), Vance often stressed the need for Republicans to break from the free-market absolutism of the past. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

absolute + -ism (in political sense after French absolutisme)

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1a