police state
noun
: a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures
Examples of police state in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In any event, cities around the country have reduced crime dramatically without engaging in the tactics of a police state.
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Elizabeth Goitein, Time, 27 Sep. 2025
Far fewer have the nerve to suggest that, as a beleaguered antifascist remnant stares down a white-supremacist police state, a biracial child will lead them.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Civilians also play a part in magnifying the police state.
—Beatriz Magaloni, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2025
Fortunately, the resemblance to a police state has not been totally debilitating.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
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Elizabeth Goitein, Time, 27 Sep. 2025
Far fewer have the nerve to suggest that, as a beleaguered antifascist remnant stares down a white-supremacist police state, a biracial child will lead them.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
Civilians also play a part in magnifying the police state.
—Beatriz Magaloni, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2025
Fortunately, the resemblance to a police state has not been totally debilitating.
—Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for police state
Cite this Entry
“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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