as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
concerning absolutism Lord Acton famously observed that "absolute power corrupts absolutely"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of absolutism
Public discourse must resist the seduction of emotional absolutism, demanding instead that moral arguments be grounded in fact and logic.
—
Kevin Waldman, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2025
In our skies as in our social lives, incremental change, like ring rain, seems to work slowly, while acts of frightening absolutism seem to happen overnight.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
In other words, the absolutism or the abolitionist approach to cutting out meat from our diet doesn’t work for a lot of people.
—Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Bolton’s moral absolutism does not play well there.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2019
See All Example Sentences for absolutism
Kevin Waldman, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2025
In our skies as in our social lives, incremental change, like ring rain, seems to work slowly, while acts of frightening absolutism seem to happen overnight.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
In other words, the absolutism or the abolitionist approach to cutting out meat from our diet doesn’t work for a lot of people.
—Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Bolton’s moral absolutism does not play well there.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2019
See All Example Sentences for absolutism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for absolutism
Noun
-
Ward’s comments underscore that the most incredible and enduring mythology of King Henry’s reign remains that of his putative tyranny.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The answer is not government tyranny, but the renewal of civil society.—
Carolyn McKinney,
Boston Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Co-host Ana Navarro compared the government pressure to tactics used by dictatorships to silence the press and the public.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Shaheen called this a historic opportunity for Syria after years of dictatorship under the Assad regime.—
Michele Kelemen,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This isn’t a sign of ascendant fascism so much as the nadir of late-stage capitalism, which depends on forever wars to juice corporate profits at a time of falling rates of return on investment.—
Seth Harp,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Podcasters on the right (and the reactionary center) normalize fascism by cosplaying at concerned free speech warriors.—
James Folta
September 19,
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Kremlin wants to turn Ukraine into another Georgia, where pro-Russian political actors have largely captured the state and are pushing the country toward autocracy.—
DARIA KALENIUK,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Hamas’s real value to Iran is as a threat to the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank–based secular Arab autocracy seated in Ramallah, and by extension the secular Arab governments that are Iran’s other targets in the region.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Bashar Assad regime’s collapse inspired a wave of optimism about despotism turning into democracy.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
-
If not for our nation’s First Amendment, our country could quickly resemble a despotism where police forces attack reporters and quash news reports that diverge from the official view.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
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
-
This is what authoritarianism looks like right now in this country.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Eclectic traditionalism, remade on an elephantine scale, is the style of totalitarianism.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Soviet communism represented left-wing totalitarianism, while Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy represented right-wing totalitarianism.—
Mark Satta,
The Conversation,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Absolutism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/absolutism. Accessed 25 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share