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
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Recent Examples of authoritarianism
For Moura, the echoes of Brazil’s dictatorship and the dangers of authoritarianism repeating itself, fed directly into The Secret Agent.
—
Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Andor connected with critics and audiences in part because its revolutionaries make cogent arguments over and over about the insanity of authoritarianism.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Society has been rocked in the past seven days by comedy and politics, by debates about authoritarianism and free speech, and by a reckoning about the great divide across the United States.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
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
The smell of authoritarianism stinks.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2025
And when liberalism seems weak and people are impatient for change, authoritarianism or anarchism can seem suitable alternatives to many.
—Big Think, 11 Sep. 2025
Key components of authoritarianism include rejecting democratic rules; denying the legitimacy of opponents; tolerating or encouraging political violence; and curtailing the civil liberties of opponents.
—Karrin Vasby Anderson, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2025
Andor connected with critics and audiences in part because its revolutionaries make cogent arguments over and over about the insanity of authoritarianism.
—Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Society has been rocked in the past seven days by comedy and politics, by debates about authoritarianism and free speech, and by a reckoning about the great divide across the United States.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
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
The smell of authoritarianism stinks.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2025
And when liberalism seems weak and people are impatient for change, authoritarianism or anarchism can seem suitable alternatives to many.
—Big Think, 11 Sep. 2025
Key components of authoritarianism include rejecting democratic rules; denying the legitimacy of opponents; tolerating or encouraging political violence; and curtailing the civil liberties of opponents.
—Karrin Vasby Anderson, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for authoritarianism
Noun
-
Christian is annoyed by Max’s temporary tyranny and overall seems … normal.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
-
When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.—
Michael Bloomberg,
Twin Cities,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The movie, set largely in 1977 during the Brazilian military dictatorship, ends on a strange and sad note.—
Morgan Baila,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Other Latin American countries that had suffered under military dictatorships vigorously prosecuted the perpetrators of human rights abuses, but Brazil did not follow suit.—
Omar G. Encarnación,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Generally, Antifa describes those in opposition to fascism and far-right neo-Nazi ideologies, tracing their roots to 20th-century resistance movements in Europe.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
-
At the same time, such a transition as implied by the current crisis necessitates and implies a coming organizational shift in society, but that could either result in a hideous fascism or in something genuinely utopian.—
Ed Simon
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 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
-
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Authoritarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/authoritarianism. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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