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
Tamar Jacoby, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Still, the subtext remained clear and ominous: The United States is at risk of becoming a real-life Gilead, the totalitarian regime that rules over what used to be America in The Handmaid’s Tale.
—Jen Chaney, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Letters To The Editor, Orange County Register, 17 Oct. 2020
Under the unconditional patronage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov rules his republic as a totalitarian, and has done so since taking power in May 2004, after his father, then President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated.
—Layla Taimienova, Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2017
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Adjective
Eighty years later, Kubilius says, Western democracies face a different form of totalitarian aggression.
—Tamar Jacoby, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Still, the subtext remained clear and ominous: The United States is at risk of becoming a real-life Gilead, the totalitarian regime that rules over what used to be America in The Handmaid’s Tale.
—Jen Chaney, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
Ridicule only appeals to cool kids on coasts and the college towns and totalitarians.
—Letters To The Editor, Orange County Register, 17 Oct. 2020
Under the unconditional patronage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov rules his republic as a totalitarian, and has done so since taking power in May 2004, after his father, then President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated.
—Layla Taimienova, Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2017
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totalitarian. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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