to·tal·i·tar·i·an
(ˌ)tō-ˌta-lə-ˈter-ē-ən 
1
a
: of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy : authoritarian, dictatorial
especially
: despotic
b
: of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (such as censorship and terrorism)
2
a
: advocating or characteristic of totalitarianism
b
: completely regulated by the state especially as an aid to national mobilization in an emergency
c
: exercising autocratic powers
: an advocate or practitioner of totalitarianism
Examples of totalitarian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The film, based on Koushun Takami’s novel of the same name, centers on a group of students in junior high school as they are forced to fight to the death by Japan’s totalitarian government.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2022
But that would not address the fundamental goal of the protests: to end the totalitarian stranglehold that has subjected the Cubans to an unbearable serfdom.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
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Adjective
Sabotage and subterfuge are key to achieving victory against a big totalitarian regime.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The film, based on Koushun Takami’s novel of the same name, centers on a group of students in junior high school as they are forced to fight to the death by Japan’s totalitarian government.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025
Noun
But, ten years later, his embrace of near-totalitarian control bears the deep imprint of his most personal beliefs about force, weakness, faith, and order.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2022
But that would not address the fundamental goal of the protests: to end the totalitarian stranglehold that has subjected the Cubans to an unbearable serfdom.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totalitarian. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
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