authoritarian
adjective
au·thor·i·tar·i·an
ȯ-ˌthȯr-ə-ˈter-ē-ən 
ə-,
-ˌthär-
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
authoritarian
noun
Synonyms of authoritarian
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
But governments in authoritarian and one-party states rarely take a hands-off approach — especially when the business belongs to a sitting president.
—
Bernard Condon, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Founded by George Soros after the fall of communism, the university says the authoritarian government of Viktor Orbán forced 90% of its teaching operations out of the country in 2019, leaving behind a stark symbol of how far the nation has moved during the prime minister’s 16-year regime.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
Reminiscent of authoritarian regimes, experts say What's branding in business is problematic in governance.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
And that goes double for an industry in which the largest shareholders are often foreign sovereign wealth funds or idiosyncratically authoritarian oligarchs, foreign or domestic.
—Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 10 Apr. 2026
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Bernard Condon, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Founded by George Soros after the fall of communism, the university says the authoritarian government of Viktor Orbán forced 90% of its teaching operations out of the country in 2019, leaving behind a stark symbol of how far the nation has moved during the prime minister’s 16-year regime.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
Reminiscent of authoritarian regimes, experts say What's branding in business is problematic in governance.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
And that goes double for an industry in which the largest shareholders are often foreign sovereign wealth funds or idiosyncratically authoritarian oligarchs, foreign or domestic.
—Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for authoritarian
Cite this Entry
“Authoritarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authoritarian. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
authoritarian
adjective
au·thor·i·tar·i·an
ȯ-ˌthär-ə-ˈter-ē-ən
ə-,
-ˌthȯr-
1
: expecting strict obedience to one's authority
had authoritarian parents
2
: based on the principle that the leaders and not the people have the final authority
an authoritarian state
authoritarian
noun
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