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
Likewise, Lenin’s invention of the one-party police state as a way to make Marx’s idea work is hardly less momentous.
—
Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 Mar. 2025
In today’s newsletter, Jon Lee Anderson reports from Damascus on shocking new evidence about the Syrian police state.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025
But the police state and its notorious prisons remained.
—Justin Salhani, The Dial, 17 Dec. 2024
This is yet another example of the police state targeting American Muslims without cause.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for police state
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.
Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 Mar. 2025
In today’s newsletter, Jon Lee Anderson reports from Damascus on shocking new evidence about the Syrian police state.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025
But the police state and its notorious prisons remained.
—Justin Salhani, The Dial, 17 Dec. 2024
This is yet another example of the police state targeting American Muslims without cause.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for police state
Cite this Entry
“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share