authoritarian

adjective

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

, ə-, -ˌthär-\

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

In the face of authoritarian rule and disasters like drought, the population suffered mightily. — Lily Rothman, Time, "Robert Mugabe Ruled Zimbabwe for Decades. Here's How He First Came to Power," 6 Sep. 2019 The military overthrew al-Bashir following months of protests against his three-decade-long authoritarian rule. — Samy Magdy, BostonGlobe.com, "Sudanese protesters sign final power-sharing deal with army," 17 Aug. 2019 In China, a rebellion would probably replace one form of authoritarian rule for another. — Joel Kotkin, National Review, "The Return to Serfdom," 25 July 2019 After al-Bashir was ousted in April, the Transitional Military Council took over — an unpopular decision among civilians concerned about further authoritarian rule. — Catherine Kim, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Turning off the red lights," 6 July 2019 But first, two parallel and courageous challenges to authoritarian rule are playing out in the streets. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Democracies try to boost public service," 1 July 2019 Protesters have mainly focused their anger on Lam, who had little choice but to carry through dictates issued by Beijing, where President Xi Jinping has enforced increasingly authoritarian rule. — Jane Onyanga-omara, USA TODAY, "Hong Kong police clear streets as protesters move to park," 17 June 2019 Protesters have mainly focused their anger on Lam, who had little choice but to carry through dictates issued by Beijing, where President Xi Jinping has enforced increasingly authoritarian rule. — Christopher Bodeen And Elaine Kurtenbach, SFChronicle.com, "Huge Hong Kong protest tests strength of leader’s control," 16 June 2019 For decades, many Americans defined it in terms of the Cold War, equating the term with state control of the economy and, more often than not, authoritarian rule. — Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, "The Many, Tangled American Definitions of Socialism," 14 June 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.