totalitarianism

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noun to·tal·i·tar·i·an·ism \ (ˌ)tō-ˌta-lə-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm \

Definition of totalitarianism

1 :centralized control by an autocratic authority

2 :the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority

Examples of totalitarianism in a Sentence

in times of crisis, when a nation's people are frightened, there are often calls for totalitarianism

Recent Examples of totalitarianism from the Web

Its defining anxieties stemmed not from the threat of communist totalitarianism but economic inequality and a bleak job market.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "Beyond the ‘Bernie bro’: Socialism’s diverse new youth brigade," 23 Aug. 2017
Capitalism proved sturdier than socialist totalitarianism.

— peter savodnik, The Hive, "How Comrade Trump Unleashed a Cold War in America," 9 Aug. 2017
Exhibit A is her 2009 novel, The Vagrants, a lacerating tale of the damage wrought by totalitarianism on provincial Chinese lives.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "In Yiyun Li's essay collection, a special brand of beauty," 6 Aug. 2017
Given the dismal history of socialism in the 20th century, which is inextricably intertwined with the history of totalitarianism, Sanders would do well to start using words with their conventional meaning.

— donald brand, Fortune, "Why Bernie Sanders Isn’t Actually a Socialist," 12 July 2017
For Ruff, the theme of totalitarianism fed into both his work and daily life.

— clive martin, CNN, "Thomas Ruff's vintage photos of forgotten Hollywood actresses," 5 July 2017
The net effect of this case is to increase the potentiality for totalitarianism in America.

— norman mailer, Daily Intelligencer, "Black and White Justice," 30 June 2017
Did many of them not see the very clear difference between the genocidal totalitarianism of Hitler and Trump’s brand of authoritarian politics?

— julian e. zelizer, The Atlantic, "Why (Some) Historians Should Be Pundits," 26 June 2017
This first book-length account in English of Hitler’s trial makes an important contribution to the understanding of modern totalitarianism.

— david holahan, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Trial of Adolf Hitler' details the 'what if' moments of the 1923 putsch," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'totalitarianism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.