as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
a military-led coup would almost certainly result in ironfisted Caesarism for that unstable nation
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Recent Examples of Caesarism
On Inner Excellence, Caesarism, nationalism, imperialism, ‘Newscum,’ Starbucks, and more
A football player made a self-help book the hottest seller in the country.
—
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 15 Jan. 2025
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 15 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Caesarism
Noun
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The Declaration of Independence was meant to signal the rejection of tyranny and the empowerment of the individual to resist undue coercion.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
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History does not record many cases in which a power-mad leader careening toward tyranny suddenly regained his senses and became more moderate.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The southern United States under the Jim Crow system of segregation, for example, was governed by a form of racial fascism premised not on a single powerful leader, but on decentralized groups of vigilantes and terrorists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Jan. 2026
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That is really thuggish fascism.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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Edner migrated from Haiti in the late 1960s to escape the Duvalier dictatorship and build a better life for his four daughters and three sons.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Amodei’s essay covers a lot of ground, from existential threats to fighting autocracy to saving jobs.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Democracies, Amodei wrote, must move fast to outpace autocracies yet carefully to avoid catastrophe; China chip export controls, research into safe AI, and regulations on AI transparency will be vital.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The hope is that the institutional reforms started by the interim administration of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus deliver the necessary checks and balances to avert another lurch toward despotism.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The strength and powers of despotism consist wholly in the fear of resisting it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Nov. 2025
Noun
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His loathing for totalitarianism was among the very few hatreds Reagan ever held, his biographer Edmund Morris said.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
9 Jan. 2026
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After Al Qaeda and then Saddam Hussein abruptly emerged as incarnations of a new totalitarianism, Michael Ignatieff and Niall Ferguson, among many others, impatiently urged the United States to assume its imperial obligations and impose democracy, human rights, and free trade through war.—
Victor J. Blue,
Harpers Magazine,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
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At the Claremont Institute in California, the disciples of Leo Strauss, the intellectual guru to several generations of conservatives, combine Platonic philosophy, biblical teachings, and a reverence for the American founding into a politics of ethical and religious absolutism.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
24 Nov. 2025
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Lyra’s quest to understand Dust brings her into confrontation with human and other worldly forces who champion moral absolutism over imagination, ignorance over knowledge, authoritarianism over free will and cold, disinterested rationality over empathy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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His government was accused of authoritarianism, repression of the opposition and electoral manipulation.—
Jhasua Razo,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
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The danger here is not merely authoritarianism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Caesarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Caesarism. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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