as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
concerning absolutism Lord Acton famously observed that "absolute power corrupts absolutely"
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of absolutism
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
In other words, the absolutism or the abolitionist approach to cutting out meat from our diet doesn’t work for a lot of people.
—Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Bolton’s moral absolutism does not play well there.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2019
See All Example Sentences for absolutism
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
In other words, the absolutism or the abolitionist approach to cutting out meat from our diet doesn’t work for a lot of people.
—Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Bolton’s moral absolutism does not play well there.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2019
See All Example Sentences for absolutism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for absolutism
Noun
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Christian is annoyed by Max’s temporary tyranny and overall seems … normal.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
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When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.—
Michael Bloomberg,
Twin Cities,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The movie, set largely in 1977 during the Brazilian military dictatorship, ends on a strange and sad note.—
Morgan Baila,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
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Other Latin American countries that had suffered under military dictatorships vigorously prosecuted the perpetrators of human rights abuses, but Brazil did not follow suit.—
Omar G. Encarnación,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Generally, Antifa describes those in opposition to fascism and far-right neo-Nazi ideologies, tracing their roots to 20th-century resistance movements in Europe.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
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At the same time, such a transition as implied by the current crisis necessitates and implies a coming organizational shift in society, but that could either result in a hideous fascism or in something genuinely utopian.—
Ed Simon
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Kremlin wants to turn Ukraine into another Georgia, where pro-Russian political actors have largely captured the state and are pushing the country toward autocracy.—
DARIA KALENIUK,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Sep. 2025
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Hamas’s real value to Iran is as a threat to the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank–based secular Arab autocracy seated in Ramallah, and by extension the secular Arab governments that are Iran’s other targets in the region.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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If not for our nation’s First Amendment, our country could quickly resemble a despotism where police forces attack reporters and quash news reports that diverge from the official view.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
15 July 2025
Noun
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For Moura, the echoes of Brazil’s dictatorship and the dangers of authoritarianism repeating itself, fed directly into The Secret Agent.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Sep. 2025
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Andor connected with critics and audiences in part because its revolutionaries make cogent arguments over and over about the insanity of authoritarianism.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Eclectic traditionalism, remade on an elephantine scale, is the style of totalitarianism.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
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Soviet communism represented left-wing totalitarianism, while Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy represented right-wing totalitarianism.—
Mark Satta,
The Conversation,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Absolutism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/absolutism. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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