as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
warned that forfeiture of civil liberties for the sake of security would only result in the terror of totalism
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Recent Examples of totalism
Common sense and a mania for systematization, logical thinking and ideological totalism, are constantly at war in the French character, as a belief in instant happiness and a paranoia about imaginary enemies are in the American.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalism
Noun
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In 2012, Manbij became one of the first Syrian cities to wrest itself from the tyranny of the dictator Bashar al-Assad.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
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The last was King Charles I, who was tried and executed in 1649 for high treason and tyranny.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Here as elsewhere, Schmitt’s rejection of the separation of powers, and the experience of fascism under Hitler, offer the right warnings.—
Cass Sunstein,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
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But this is a new world, and the ascendance of fascism can really pave the way for a product launch!—
Sarah Jeong,
The Verge,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Then in January, the Iranian people by the millions took to the streets, demanding freedom and an end to the dictatorship which has tormented them since 1979.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
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The coup ended Iran’s first experiment with democracy and ushered in over two decades of dictatorship under the shah.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jury President Wim Wenders praised the film for its portrait of life under totalitarianism saying the story would chime with and serve as a wakeup call for people all over the world.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2026
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His loathing for totalitarianism was among the very few hatreds Reagan ever held, his biographer Edmund Morris said.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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So the same establishment that had once helped push a Qajar shah toward constitutionalism helped pull a Pahlavi shah back from exile and back into absolutism.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
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Social media, ideological sorting, and the emotional intensity of war encourage absolutism.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Putting private anguish and public witnessing into forceful tension, Paksa fashioned a productively ambivalent rubric for the artist under authoritarianism.—
Daniel R. Quiles,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
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Resistance against authoritarianism requires a revolution that goes beyond words.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Totalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalism. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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