as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
in times of crisis, when a nation's people are frightened, there are often calls for totalitarianism
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Recent Examples of totalitarianism
But, as in these United States, the key question remains whether creeping totalitarianism — from the left and the right — will squeeze everyday people out of their inalienable right to just be their sometimes obnoxious, unkempt, idiosyncratic selves.
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Ed Wallace, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
And Ukraine is showing the question of how durable Western values are; whether the liberties and values of our Western democracy are something that will last — or whether totalitarianism, as exhibited for example in Putin's Russia — will win.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 20 May 2024
The specter of nuclear annihilation loomed only dimly in his thoughts, but Kennan recognized that competition with Soviet totalitarianism held immeasurable risks.
—Richard Babcock, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2024
Many of us see Israel’s war against Hamas as the same battle (albeit on a smaller scale, at least at this point) that took place between the Allies and the Nazis, even down to their tyrannical totalitarianism and their virulent antisemitism.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 6 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for totalitarianism 
Ed Wallace, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024
And Ukraine is showing the question of how durable Western values are; whether the liberties and values of our Western democracy are something that will last — or whether totalitarianism, as exhibited for example in Putin's Russia — will win.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 20 May 2024
The specter of nuclear annihilation loomed only dimly in his thoughts, but Kennan recognized that competition with Soviet totalitarianism held immeasurable risks.
—Richard Babcock, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2024
Many of us see Israel’s war against Hamas as the same battle (albeit on a smaller scale, at least at this point) that took place between the Allies and the Nazis, even down to their tyrannical totalitarianism and their virulent antisemitism.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 6 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarianism
Noun
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It's mainly made up of former and current law enforcement, former and current military, and these people see themselves as the last line of defense against government tyranny.Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
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Finally, Gibney breaks away from nonstop Sopranos worship for secondhand memories of Gandolfini’s personal struggles on the series — the mixture of pressure and addiction — and Chase’s transition into some level of occasional tyranny.Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Forcible suppression of opposition is a key component in fascism.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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The Parisian Surrealists emerged amid the fresh traumas of World War I, the alienation of rapid industrialization, and the horrors of rising fascism.Jack Denton, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
Noun
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His thirty-two-year hard-line dictatorship witnessed political assassinations and the violent suppression of human rights by his army.Hung Duong, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
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The peace plan tried to secure Arab recognition of Israel’s 1967 conquests, in exchange for more American aid and arms sales to the brutal Egyptian, Saudi and Emirati dictatorships.Caise D. Hassan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Totalitarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarianism. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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