authoritarian

adjective au·thor·i·tar·i·an \ ȯ-ˌthär-ə-ˈter-ē-ən , ə- , -ˌthȯr- \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: authoritarian in a Sentence

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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authoritarian

noun

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authoritarianism

play \-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm\ noun

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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 of authoritarian from the Web

Alongside outright noncompliance and public outcries from increasingly authoritarian countries such as Turkey, Russia and Hungary, the ECtHR has been under fire by liberal democracies as well.

— filiz kahraman, Washington Post, "Why Turkey’s human rights violations won’t end up in court," 12 June 2018
Trump has seemed largely unconcerned about celebrating an authoritarian leader suspected of ordering the public assassination of his half brother with a nerve agent, executing his uncle by firing squad and killing U.S. college student Otto Warmbier.

— laurie kellman, chicagotribune.com, "U.S. politicians not yet toasting President Trump, Kim Jong Un summit," 12 June 2018
But Greek human-rights advocates argue the eight men would not get a fair trial in Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian political climate.

— nektaria stamouli, WSJ, "Greek Court Grants Asylum to Turkish Soldier, Raising Tensions With Ankara," 24 May 2018
The Arsenal and Manchester City players posed for photos on Sunday in London with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has taken an increasingly authoritarian stance in recent years.

— Fox News, "DFB chief slams Ozil, Gundogan photos with Turkish president," 14 May 2018
In 2015, the opposition struck back, winning congress and vowing to rein in the increasingly authoritarian leader.

— jim wyss and gustavo ocando alex, miamiherald, "'Everybody already knows' how Venezuela's presidential race will turn out, voters say | Miami Herald," 11 May 2018
In Europe, increasingly authoritarian leaders — among them Andrzej Duda of Poland, Viktor Orban of Hungary and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia — style themselves as defenders of Christian Europe while barring the gates to migrants and refugees.

— jason horowitz, New York Times, "Pope Francis in the Wilderness," 28 Apr. 2018
Complaints about Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leadership — marked by large-scale arrest campaigns and a crackdown on independent news media — have also caused friction with Turkey’s allies, including the United States.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "Erdogan calls for early elections in Turkey," 18 Apr. 2018
The pretension that Turkey is still a EU candidate country helps Erdogan to consolidate the democratic facade of an increasingly authoritarian regime.

— monitor editors, The Christian Science Monitor, "A US-China trade war is a lose-lose proposition, The West must bring Russia to the negotiating table, The UAE and Saudi Arabia’s enthusiasm for Pompeo will be brief, The EU should stop appeasing Erdogan, Time to take back control of our personal data," 7 Apr. 2018

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.