antidemocratic

adjective

Definition of antidemocraticnext
as in totalitarian

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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 antidemocratic Great replacement theory has spurred many everyday White people into supporting antidemocratic political parties that harm most White people—and the rest of us. — Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026 By partly neutralizing criticism that its leaders are elitist or antidemocratic, the right has been able to focus on issues that play to its strengths. — Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025 That is why critics of gerrymandering are right to regard it as antidemocratic. — Craig Gilbert, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025 That pursuit was also driven by the transformation of conservatism itself—which, beginning in the Nineties, became ever more extremist, populist, anti-government, antidemocratic, and supportive of authoritarian measures. — Terry M. Moe, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for antidemocratic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antidemocratic
  1. totalitarian
  2. oppressive
  3. authoritarian
  4. autocratic
  5. magisterial
  6. tyrannical
Adjective
  • The foundation’s goal is to memorialize those killed by communist regimes and pursue freedom for people still living under totalitarian rule.
    — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 17 July 2026
  • Navratilova defected from Czechoslovakia to the United States in 1975 at 18 years old, leaving a totalitarian regime to embrace American culture.
    — Makena Gera, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of totalitarian
Adjective
  • This stretch of eastern Long Island has long been a respite for New Yorkers seeking a seaside reprieve from the oppressive heat.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Alongside health advice, state media has repeatedly returned to a familiar propaganda theme — Kim’s willingness to endure the same oppressive weather faced by ordinary North Koreans.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of oppressive
Adjective
  • The island’s very existence—a prosperous, democratic Chinese society integrated with the West—offers a stinging rebuke to the claim that authoritarian rule is uniquely suited to the Chinese people.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The reason is that protesters fear that the Republic of Georgia will continue following an authoritarian path similar to Russia’s, crushing their hopes and dreams of being another Western-style democracy that is a member of NATO and the EU.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of authoritarian
Adjective
  • All of this is manna for autocratic leaders, who base much of their domestic propaganda on claims of Western weakness and hypocrisy.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
  • My answer focuses on the role of autocratic political elites – that is, the party officials, military officers and other regime insiders who control the state.
    — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
Definition of autocratic
Adjective
  • Nolan divides the sacking of Troy into two lengthy sequences, both shot under cover of darkness but edited (by Jennifer Lame) with a magisterial clarity.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • Force’s plan came to fruition in 1837, when the government published nine volumes—most of them considerably more than 1,000 pages—under the magisterial title American Archives.
    — T. H. Breen, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026
Definition of magisterial
Adjective
  • Ayatollah Khomeini portrayed the shah as the tyrannical Yazid and himself as a Husayn-like figure returning from exile to save the Iranian people from injustice.
    — Iqbal Akhtar, The Conversation, 31 July 2026
  • The Hawaiians viewed the new rules as tyrannical; those with the disease were wont to hide in the hills of the islands, forever on the run.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Definition of tyrannical

Browse Nearby Words

antics
antidemocratic
antidepressant
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Cite this Entry

“Antidemocratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antidemocratic. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of antidemocratic for Spanish Speakers

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