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.
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

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

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

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Cite this Entry

“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

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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