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
Rasoulof has talked about purposefully making his films less allegorical as his career has progressed, preferring to present his stories about oppression and totalitarianism plainly, so that his resentments are indisputable.
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Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
Mann understood the appeal of totalitarianism early on.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
In 1984, Apple released a TV ad suggesting that its new Macintosh would topple Orwellian totalitarianism.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
In an interview with Variety at the time of the film’s premiere at Cannes, Lawrence explained how the impetus for her involvement came from seeing news of Kabul’s fall and finding similarities to her own home country’s spiral towards totalitarianism.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for totalitarianism 
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
Mann understood the appeal of totalitarianism early on.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
In 1984, Apple released a TV ad suggesting that its new Macintosh would topple Orwellian totalitarianism.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
In an interview with Variety at the time of the film’s premiere at Cannes, Lawrence explained how the impetus for her involvement came from seeing news of Kabul’s fall and finding similarities to her own home country’s spiral towards totalitarianism.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarianism
Noun
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Annotated Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language declared Americans free from the tyranny of British institutions and their vocabularies.JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
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Transferring that depth to television, particularly to predominantly Black characters in a Caribbean country, especially one as fabled as Jamaica, to confront the tyranny of homophobia while also sustaining a conversation with the U.K. about its tainted legacy of colonialism, is bold and visionary.Ronda Racha Penrice, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Juan Bernabe, 56, was already a controversial figure at the club for his open support of fascism, but his up-and-down career came to an end after Sunday’s Instagram posts, The Athletic reported.Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
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The series tells the story of the birth of fascism in Italy and the rise to power of Benito Mussolini.Billboard Italy, Billboard, 13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Since the peaceful revolution against the Assad dictatorship in 2012, the United States found ways to advance change.Brandon Hoffman, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
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For his part, Rubio kept a serious stance while making his case for the new role and speaking out against dictatorship regimes, but also, kept several exchanges with senators lighter at times.Claudia Grisales, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Totalitarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarianism. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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