as in oppressive
controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed
A totalitarian state that did not even allow outsiders to visit.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in authoritarian
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totalitarian
Katya Soldak, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
George Orwell's haunting vision of a totalitarian future is thoughtfully explored in this film adaptation of his seminal novel, in which humble worker Winston Smith (John Hurt) and his fellow citizens must deal with constant surveillance by the government, punishing all those who fall out of line.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Adjective
Organized by the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve, the exhibition presents documentary photography, archival materials, and video installations that chronicle the devastation of the city under two totalitarian regimes.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
George Orwell's haunting vision of a totalitarian future is thoughtfully explored in this film adaptation of his seminal novel, in which humble worker Winston Smith (John Hurt) and his fellow citizens must deal with constant surveillance by the government, punishing all those who fall out of line.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
But that would not address the fundamental goal of the protests: to end the totalitarian stranglehold that has subjected the Cubans to an unbearable serfdom.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
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Plan Your Trip Charleston, South Carolina The Holy City may be blanketed in humidity in the height of summer, but Charlestonians have figured out all the best ways to deal with the oppressive air.—
Lydia Mansel,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2025
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Yet history provides no shortage of examples of human courage, even under the most oppressive circumstances.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Other writers and artists have also begun to mine this era for clues to China’s current authoritarian malaise.—
Ian Johnson,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2025
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Since taking office just a few weeks ago, President Trump has rapidly depleted the reservoir of America’s soft power with an authoritarian bent and astonishing speed.—
Penny Abeywardena,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, dated Feb. 21, 1925, carried no portraits of potentates or tycoons, no headlines, no come-ons.—
Christopher B. Daly,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2025
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Or were all those billionaire potentates in the Capitol Rotunda — seated in front of Trump’s Cabinet picks — asserting their social, economic and cultural hegemony?—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Eruption of warfare The army and RSF had at one point been in a fragile partnership together, jointly staging a coup in 2021 that derailed the transition from the Islamist rule of Omar al-Bashir, a longtime autocrat who was ousted in 2019.—
FOXNews.com,
FOXNews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Instead, the country has a would-be autocrat, with a Mt. Whitney-size grudge against California, seeking to establish himself as King Donald the First.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
The Mercury News,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Correa is accused of participating in beatings, electrocutions and other forms of abuses while allegedly acting as part of a death squad operating under former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
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The trouble with international prosecutions The ICC has a long list of outstanding arrest warrants, including for former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades before being deposed in 2019.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Hope: Ultimately, the protests suggest the possibility that, eventually, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians will never again allow themselves to be ruled by revanchist tyrants of any shade.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2025
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Synopsis: Before kings and empires feared him, a tyrant sought to erase him.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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