1
as in domineering
fond of ordering people around
grew up with an authoritarian older sister who thought she was queen of the world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in strict
given to exacting standards of discipline and self-restraint
an authoritarian coach who runs football practice like it's boot camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in disciplinarian
Related Words
2
as in dictator
Related Words
Example Sentences
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show current usage.
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Recent Examples of authoritarian
Christopher Justin Einolf, The Conversation, 26 Sep. 2025
That is why censorship is the authoritarian's dream.
—Robert Birsel
shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Andrew Rojecki, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
But the award this year went to María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader who has pushed back against authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for authoritarian
Adjective
Not your grandma’s authoritarians Today’s authoritarian rulers realize that civil society has the potential to support democracy and pry loose their grip on power.
—Christopher Justin Einolf, The Conversation, 26 Sep. 2025
That is why censorship is the authoritarian's dream.
—Robert Birsel
shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
Scholars observe that the White House projection of the often comical images of authority echoes the visual style of authoritarian governments.
—Andrew Rojecki, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
But the award this year went to María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader who has pushed back against authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for authoritarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for authoritarian
Adjective
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Her anxiety stems from her domineering mother (Barbara Hershey) and rival dancer (Mila Kunis) who may or may not be after her part in the ballet.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
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And one of the reasons the film doesn’t succeed is Meryl Streep’s grotesque performance as the filterless, domineering matriarch.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Those strict security measures slowed down traffic and travelers and likely would not be welcome again.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
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Loosening restrictions Chinese work visas generally come with strict, complex requirements and allow limited stays for a small group of high-end applicants who are sponsored by employers.—
Peter Guo,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Mitevska also refuses to sanctify Mother Teresa more than necessary, instead portraying her as a strict disciplinarian who believed in organizational practicality as much as in the inherent holiness of children.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
27 Aug. 2025
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Considering his managers at Leeds included disciplinarians such as Wilkinson and George Graham, this was probably for the best.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
29 July 2025
Noun
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He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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These deployments are nothing more than partisan spite from an increasingly unhinged aspiring dictator, and the Supreme Court must halt them.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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Elsewhere, the details lifted from the book suffer in translation – Branagh’s Victor is appropriately arrogant but not adequately tortured; De Niro’s Monster is sensitive and intuitive, but drowns in the film’s hurried, hollow second half.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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According to the woman, her parents’ reasoning for denying her requests was rooted in a harsh lesson about independence.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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Instead of buying special cleaners or reaching for harsh chemicals to clean around your home, look to your medicine cabinet for a solution.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And then there’s the U.S. Army officer who succeeds in apprehending Perfidia: Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, played in a graying military fade, with some fur on top and a martinet scowl, by Sean Penn.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
17 Sep. 2025
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But Muir’s co-moderator, Linsey Davis, was a different case: Davis wore a mannish, gray suit jacket and struck a pose of martinet — almost schoolmarmish — solemnity.—
Armond White,
National Review,
20 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
Foreseeing FedSur’s fall and the region’s triumph over climate change, Jonás inspires millions of Latinos to join his reactionary revolution, while Crussí, hunted by the regime, undertakes a doomed mission to kill the religious tyrant who foresees his intent.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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As historian Timothy Snyder warns, tyrants will always take advantage of a national crisis to consolidate their power and remove their opponents’ civil liberties.—
Rev. Nathan Empsall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Authoritarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/authoritarian. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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