authoritarianism

noun

Definition of authoritarianismnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 authoritarianism Drawing on authoritarianism scholars, the piece contends that linking criticism of Trump to hostility toward America can stigmatize dissent and make opponents appear to be enemies of the country. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026 Like much else in Guatemala, the colossal, mint-green presidential palace where Arévalo sat down with me is a holdover from a bygone era of authoritarianism. — Will Freeman, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026 The Oscar winner took a walk down memory lane to detail how many artists and collaborators lifted him up on his journey while also taking aim at authoritarianism. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 The thing needed, even in the days of galloping authoritarianism, is to cut the Court down to size. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Another speaker drew attention to the alarming rise of authoritarianism in the United States. — David Pollak, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026 The Gao Brothers, whose works addressed themes of authoritarianism and censorship, became famous in a time of relative openness in China and were exhibited both inside the country and abroad. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 More recently, talk radio played a significant role in the conspiracy theories around Obama and arguably helped drive some of the contemporary conservative sphere’s rejection of the truth and embrace of authoritarianism. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026 So many people who influence public opinion in the United States do so in a damaging and unproductive way because the problem of creeping authoritarianism doesn’t affect them personally. — Sarah Batcha, Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for authoritarianism
  1. tyranny
  2. dictatorship
  3. fascism
  4. autocracy
  5. totalitarianism
  6. despotism
Noun
  • Lawmakers from Fidesz and its coalition party, the Christian Democrats, did not take part in Monday’s vote, calling the charges against their lawmakers political tyranny by Magyar’s government.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • And Ric Salinas, who plays Chachalacani, humorously obliges, bringing his Culture Clash vaudeville skills to the role of the sentry who’s caught between the rock of Klion’s tyranny and his fellow feeling for Antíkona’s sympathetic cause.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of tyranny
Noun
  • The United Kingdom has controlled the Falklands since 1833, and fought a brief war over the islands in the early 1980s after the Argentine military dictatorship attempted to seize the territory by force.
    — Adrienne Vogt, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Here, Americans want to live in a democracy, not a dictatorship.
    — S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of dictatorship
Noun
  • At least a million soldiers fighting in the British and French armies against fascism were Muslims.
    — Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In Conversation What Wiemar Germany’s theater can teach us about artistic expression in the shadow of rising fascism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of fascism
Noun
  • International experts have denounced President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s repression of the opposition and push to eliminate term limits as worrisome turns toward autocracy.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The Ostrich Army spoke of the impending incursion as the advent of jackboot autocracy, but plans to resist it seemed more equivocal.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of autocracy
Noun
  • Most often, socialism morphs into totalitarianism, as its egalitarian ideals are no match for human nature.
    — Nolan Finley The Detroit News, Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Interesting, too, how the project’s warnings about Russian totalitarianism, particularly stark in DAU.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of totalitarianism
Noun
  • The nation which will not adopt an equilibrium of power must adopt a despotism.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • His dream was nothing less than a new reality, a hopeful future free of despotism, ruled by equality and liberty, rather than kings and queens.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of despotism

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Cite this Entry

“Authoritarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/authoritarianism. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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