authoritarian

adjective

au·thor·i·tar·i·an | \ ȯ-ˌthär-ə-ˈter-ē-ən

, ə-, -ˌthȯr-\

Definition of authoritarian

1 : of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority had authoritarian parents

2 : of, relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people an authoritarian regime

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Examples of authoritarian in a Sentence

grew up with an authoritarian older sister who thought she was queen of the world an authoritarian coach who runs football practice like it's boot camp

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Trump has sought to praise Kim, who oversees an authoritarian government, in hopes of keeping the prospects of a deal alive, and the two have traded flowery letters in recent weeks. — Author: Zeke Miller, Jonathan Lemire, Anchorage Daily News, "Kim Jong Un accepts Trump’s invitation to meet at the Korean demilitarized zone," 30 June 2019 Still, Trump has sought to praise Kim, who oversees an authoritarian government, in hopes of keeping the prospects of a deal alive, and the two have traded flowery letters in recent weeks. — Jonathan Lemire, The Denver Post, "DMZ diplomacy? Trump says Kim wants to meet him at border," 29 June 2019 Still, Trump has sought to publicly heap praise on Kim, who oversees an authoritarian government, in hopes of keeping the prospects of a deal alive, and the two have traded flowery letters in recent weeks. — Jonathan Lemire, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump says he could meet North Korea’s Kim at DMZ," 28 June 2019 To be sure, the Winter Games is bound to find willing hosts even if there’s no city on earth where the locals want to do the honors – as long as there are authoritarian governments. — Eva Kassens-noor, The Conversation, "Italy’s minimal competition to host the 2026 Winter Olympics," 25 June 2019 Budathoki left Bhutan at a time when a sixth of the population was being evicted due to political persecution from an authoritarian government. — NBC News, "Americans weigh in on how to improve democracy," 22 June 2019 Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has, outwardly at least, been one of the world’s most stable and predictable regimes — an assertive authoritarian government propped up by a mix of repression and acquiescence at home. — Leonid Bershidsky, Twin Cities, "Leonid Bershidsky: Russia after Vladimir Putin," 5 June 2019 Last week, hundreds of Gazans protested the dire conditions, a rare expression of public discontent against the authoritarian government. — Fares Akram, The Seattle Times, "Israel, Gaza militants in 2nd day of cross-border fighting," 25 Mar. 2019 Thanks to initial reluctance by Myanmar’s authoritarian government to permit aid, as well as concerns that the government was using the money to cement its hold on power, this tragedy missed its first-week rush of donations. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Why disaster relief is so hard," 25 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'authoritarian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.