as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a critical period that saw a number of third-world countries abandon authoritarianism for democracy
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Recent Examples of authoritarianism
The documentary about the perils of authoritarianism from the author of iconic 1984 and Animal Farm premiered at Cannes.
—
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2025
The rise of authoritarianism, xenophobia and nationalism is also fueling young people’s desire to act, as opportunities that were once available to their parents’ generations have nearly disappeared.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
While the issues roiling America today may be more nuanced than slavery, there are still stark contrasts—forces of democracy and authoritarianism that can pretty fairly be described as right and wrong.
—Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
The Secret Agent is being released at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise in the US, and around the world.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
To stand by and allow more of the same is to surrender to authoritarianism in slow motion.
—Trena Turner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
For Moura, the echoes of Brazil’s dictatorship and the dangers of authoritarianism repeating itself, fed directly into The Secret Agent.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Society has been rocked in the past seven days by comedy and politics, by debates about authoritarianism and free speech, and by a reckoning about the great divide across the United States.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Censoring Colbert and Kimmel accelerates the dangerous slide into authoritarianism and is a direct attack on our freedom of speech.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2025
The rise of authoritarianism, xenophobia and nationalism is also fueling young people’s desire to act, as opportunities that were once available to their parents’ generations have nearly disappeared.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
While the issues roiling America today may be more nuanced than slavery, there are still stark contrasts—forces of democracy and authoritarianism that can pretty fairly be described as right and wrong.
—Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
The Secret Agent is being released at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise in the US, and around the world.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
To stand by and allow more of the same is to surrender to authoritarianism in slow motion.
—Trena Turner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
For Moura, the echoes of Brazil’s dictatorship and the dangers of authoritarianism repeating itself, fed directly into The Secret Agent.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Society has been rocked in the past seven days by comedy and politics, by debates about authoritarianism and free speech, and by a reckoning about the great divide across the United States.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Censoring Colbert and Kimmel accelerates the dangerous slide into authoritarianism and is a direct attack on our freedom of speech.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for authoritarianism
Noun
-
The new Constitution’s supporters, known as Federalists, faced fierce opposition from Anti-Federalists who charged that a powerful national government, unrestrained by a bill of rights, would inevitably lead to tyranny.—
Donald Nieman,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Males that tried to rule by asserting their dominance through violence, tyranny and threat did not last.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If the Supreme Court officially makes the chief executive a unitary executive, the advancement of the public good may depend on little more than the whims of the president, a state of affairs normally more characteristic of dictatorship than democracy.—
Graham G. Dodds,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The exec emphasized his excitement about being in the country a few months after Salles’ history-making drama about Brazil’s military dictatorship, a film that also scored nominations for best picture and actress for Fernanda Torres.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Thomas Pynchon has been warning us about American fascism the whole time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Oct. 2025
-
His latest novel in English, , unfolds in a single sentence and reflects anxieties about rising fascism in Europe.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This is a democracy versus autocracy issue.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Yet the film’s timeliness is still a tonic, given that the spirit of autocracy looks more and more like a virus that now wants to take over the world.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Except for a few shots of China’s President Xi presiding over a military parade, the film’s image of totalitarianism leans far more toward right-wing regimes; to leave out Mao, or Castro, feels like a mistake.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Eclectic traditionalism, remade on an elephantine scale, is the style of totalitarianism.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In recent months, as despotism intensified an increasing number of writers, scholars, and thinkers were declared foreign agents, and their books were taken off the shelves.—
Nina Khrushcheva,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Authoritarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/authoritarianism. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
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