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 of absolutism

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

Examples of absolutism in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Together with his lover Madame de Staël and their circle, Constant arrived at the idea—not in direct response to the Königsberg scandal but in response to the moralizing public absolutism of the age—that liberty required privacy to flourish. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

In fact, that kind of absolutism is a good way to become part of another kind of silencing, another kind of injustice. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026

The result is the extreme polarization and absolutism. — Andrew Cuomo, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026

People fall somewhere along the continuum between moral absolutism (the belief that right and wrong are objective and universal) and moral relativism (the belief that right and wrong is context-dependent). — Esade Business & Law School, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2026

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
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism
• calvinism