totalitarianism

noun

to·​tal·​i·​tar·​i·​an·​ism (ˌ)tō-ˌta-lə-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm 

1

: centralized control by an autocratic authority

2

: the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority

Synonyms

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

Examples of totalitarianism in a Sentence

in times of crisis, when a nation's people are frightened, there are often calls for totalitarianism

Recent Examples on the Web

Communism and other forms of totalitarianism are often said to be antihuman. —Rich Lowry, National Review, 19 May 2025

This lively novel examines the compromises and complicity of artists working in the face of totalitarianism through a fictional retelling of the life of the Austrian film director G. W. Pabst. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 19 May 2025

But, as Peck believes, Orwell has wrongly been interpreted as relevant only to an earlier time of Stalinist totalitarianism. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 May 2025

The four-part documentary series, released in April, features interviews with survivors of Soviet totalitarianism. —Heather Hamilton, The Washington Examiner, 27 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for totalitarianism

• antiquarianism
• congregationalism
• constitutionalism
• cosmopolitanism
• electromagnetism
• environmentalism
• epicureanism
• evangelicalism
• experimentalism
• hyperparathyroidism
• hypoparathyroidism
• individualism