variants
also tsarism
or tzarism
as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
historically, during times of national crisis, people have looked to czarism as an answer to their fears
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of czarism
Like so many at the time, Paustovsky had hopes of a democratic future with the end of czarism.
—
Douglas Smith, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022
The difference between czarism and Leninism is the one between absolutism and totalitarianism.
—Josef Joffe, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017
With the collapse of czarism, this commitment to gradual reform and the development of parliamentary institutions seemed outdated.
—Carolyn Harris, Smithsonian, 13 Apr. 2017
Douglas Smith, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022
The difference between czarism and Leninism is the one between absolutism and totalitarianism.
—Josef Joffe, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017
With the collapse of czarism, this commitment to gradual reform and the development of parliamentary institutions seemed outdated.
—Carolyn Harris, Smithsonian, 13 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for czarism
Noun
-
Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Ayatollah Sayyed Abdullah Behbahani and Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai used Islamic arguments to claim that even kings must be bound by law, and that tyranny was incompatible with religion.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Its founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, established a religious dictatorship that subjugates the Iranian people under sharia law, while zealously exporting its dogma by force.—
Elan Journo,
Oc Register,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz’s ‘Another League’ chronicles the defiant birth of women’s soccer in the waning years of Francisco Franco’s arcane dictatorship in early 1970s Spain – today the reigning world champions after winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Originally, the trophy seemed like Sean Penn’s to lose, for turning in an unforgettable transformation as the physical embodiment of fascism.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Hopefully the majority of people who still wish to live in a free society will vote in November to overturn the Republican march away from freedom and to autocracy and fascism.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Czarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/czarism. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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