as in illiberality
stubborn or intolerant adherence to one's opinions or prejudices
They each accused the other of a form of illiberalism.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiberalism
Orban and Putin once shared a close working relationship, grounded in energy deals and mutual illiberalism.
—
Nic Cheeseman, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Space warfare, cyber defense, mass migration, corruption, and illiberalism require fluency, adaptability, empathy, and collaboration.
—Loree Sutton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
If so, or even if not, the results of illiberalism by governmental bodies on both sides of the Atlantic are clear for all to see.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Hazony’s main project, the National Conservatism conference, has served as a hub connecting various different strands of illiberalism to each other and to power.
—Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for illiberalism
Nic Cheeseman, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Space warfare, cyber defense, mass migration, corruption, and illiberalism require fluency, adaptability, empathy, and collaboration.
—Loree Sutton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
If so, or even if not, the results of illiberalism by governmental bodies on both sides of the Atlantic are clear for all to see.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Hazony’s main project, the National Conservatism conference, has served as a hub connecting various different strands of illiberalism to each other and to power.
—Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for illiberalism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiberalism
Noun
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Greenberg suggests this remains a useful lens for looking at bigotry today.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
8 May 2026
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But the Ohio gubernatorial candidate who clinched his party’s nomination this week alluded to bigotry on the right in his opening message to a town hall full of young Republicans.—
Hannah Knowles,
Washington Post,
8 May 2026
Noun
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These examples might seem to highlight intolerance and suppressed speech on campus.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
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In people with lactose intolerance, the body doesn’t produce enough of an enzyme called lactase, which is needed to break down lactose so it can be absorbed.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
14 May 2026
Noun
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By staying so close to black metal’s core sound, Marchenko does more to undermine the dogmatism—both racial and aesthetic—of Vikernes and his ilk than a more obviously experimental project might.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
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But for the audience the scariest revelation in the conversation isn’t his dogmatism.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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No, either take ownership of your own prejudices or stay silent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
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This is just the first point of contention in a minefield of cultural barriers, letter-of-the-law distinctions, personal prejudices and perhaps some plain mistruth here and there.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Noun
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In practice, this can take the form of inclusive recruiting and hiring processes, mentorship and sponsorship programs, pay equity audits, employee resource groups, supplier diversity initiatives, and management training designed to reduce bias in performance reviews and promotions.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
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Good qualitative researchers do not try to eliminate their biases but instead try to account for them.—
Ankolika De,
The Conversation,
19 May 2026
Noun
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Those could be explicit requirements for a map to appear to be fair by certain statistical measures of partisanship.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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Jazil on Friday argued that plaintiffs were definitively saying the map was crafted with partisanship in mind despite scant evidence.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Illiberalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiberalism. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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