police state
noun
: a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures
Examples of police state in a Sentence
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Five months after its liberation from the police state of Bashar al-Assad, Syria sometimes looks like a country in civil war.
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Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 14 May 2025
India’s defensive stance has meant the continuous presence of military and paramilitary troops in Kashmir who have effectively turned the region into a police state.
—Showkat Nanda Atul Loke, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, and much of the U.S. South for that matter resembled something akin to a police state at this time.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But the city will look like a police state at times, with maximum security enforcement after the two assassination attempts against Trump last year and the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2025
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Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 14 May 2025
India’s defensive stance has meant the continuous presence of military and paramilitary troops in Kashmir who have effectively turned the region into a police state.
—Showkat Nanda Atul Loke, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, and much of the U.S. South for that matter resembled something akin to a police state at this time.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
But the city will look like a police state at times, with maximum security enforcement after the two assassination attempts against Trump last year and the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for police state
Cite this Entry
“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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