absolutism

noun

ab·​so·​lut·​ism ˈab-sə-ˌlü-ˌti-zəm 

1

a

: a political theory that absolute power should be vested in one or more rulers

b

: government by an absolute ruler or authority : despotism

2

: advocacy of a rule by absolute standards or principles

3

: an absolute standard or principle

absolutist

ˈab-sə-ˌlü-tist 

noun or adjective

absolutistic

ˌab-sə-(ˌ)lü-ˈti-stik 

adjective

Synonyms

• tyranny
• dictatorship
• fascism
• tsarism
• autocracy
• despotism
• Communism
• authoritarianism
• totalitarianism

Examples of absolutism in a Sentence

concerning absolutism Lord Acton famously observed that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Recent Examples on the Web

The idea that executive absolutism can be stopped by a single district judge is a romantic but inaccurate one. —George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2025

Its champions gradually came to reinterpret the end of licensing as a natural consequence of the Revolution of 1688—part of the progression from tyrannical absolutism to parliamentary monarchy. —Fara Dabhoiwala, Harpers Magazine, 4 June 2025

Public discourse must resist the seduction of emotional absolutism, demanding instead that moral arguments be grounded in fact and logic. —Kevin Waldman, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2025

In our skies as in our social lives, incremental change, like ring rain, seems to work slowly, while acts of frightening absolutism seem to happen overnight. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

absolute + -ism (in political sense after French absolutisme)

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for absolutism

• activism
• ageism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism