as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a critical period that saw a number of third-world countries abandon authoritarianism for democracy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for authoritarianism
Noun
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When Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, and the rest of their ragtag fugitive fleet fled the Cylon tyranny, one of their first ports of call was the pleasure planet of Carillon for a spot of R&R.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
15 Jan. 2025 -
During that terrifying first year of tyranny, Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, and Bail Organa face the encroaching darkness.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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And ultimately, South Koreans may decide the time has come to revise the constitution, written in 1948 under U.S. military occupation and last revised in 1987 under military dictatorship.—
John Delury,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Jan. 2025
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Molina, a gay hairdresser convicted of public indecency during Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship, has been sent to the political wing of a prison and put in the same cell as Valentin Arregui (a solid, if unremarkable Diego Luna), an intense and serious-minded Marxist revolutionary.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Hepburn’s hatred of fascism and the Nazis was especially resonant to people on Reddit.—
Martha Ross,
The Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2025
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Reviewed by Andrew Moravcsik January/February 2025 Published on In This Review Hitler’s People: The Faces of the Third Reich By Richard J. Evans Save Who would support fascism today?—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In response, autocracies such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia militarize against the United States and try to divide its alliances and subvert its democracy.—
Michael Beckley,
Foreign Affairs,
7 Jan. 2025
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According to a European survey of more than two hundred countries, 2022 was the first time in two decades that closed autocracies outnumbered liberal democracies in the world.—
Chang Che,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2024
Noun
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With the help of grants from Jewish groups, social psychologists, sociologists, and other scholars investigated how antisemitism was connected to totalitarianism, religion and other forms of racial and ethnic stereotyping.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2025
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This episode shows that—although China has never had a U.S.-style constitution—Beijing moved away from Maoist totalitarianism under Deng, thereby instilling a sense of security and confidence among Chinese entrepreneurs.—
Yasheng Huang,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2023
Noun
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Western governments have burdened Georgia with a special status as a democracy-in-the-making in a region otherwise beset by despotism.—
Christian Caryl,
Foreign Affairs,
26 Dec. 2024
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Although Adolf Hitler met his road to perdition, Joseph Stalin survived and extended his despotism.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
14 Mar. 2024
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Thesaurus Entries Near authoritarianism
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“Authoritarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/authoritarianism. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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