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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This position does not mean in any way ignoring four decades of mismanagement, corruption, oppression, tyranny and incompetence of the Islamic Republic.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
18 June 2025
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Ever since America’s founders decided that the best way to prevent tyranny was to diffuse power across branches of government, those branches of government have competed for authority.—
Jacob Turcotte,
Christian Science Monitor,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Baker reaches from Virginia’s slaveholding history to the poet Ezra Pound’s deluded post–World War II fascism to the misogynistic trolls of Gamergate in her quest to understand Unite the Right.—
Book Marks
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
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Seen as a metaphor for fascism, authoritarian threats and other abuses of power, the script has experienced a resurgence recently.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
18 June 2025
Noun
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The backdrop of the Marcos dictatorship shaped her artistic approach, defined by an interest in quotidian experience—including everyday injustices such as gender inequality and the ecological exploitation of the Philippines by greedy conglomerates.—
Hung Duong,
Artforum,
18 June 2025
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This brings me back to the conclusion that the Venezuelan dictatorship — perhaps Latin America’s biggest potential winner of a global oil price hike — along with Colombia and Mexico may get, at best, a brief respite if the Iran war disrupts world oil shipping lanes.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
18 June 2025
Noun
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Mao had also fully grasped the natural suitability of photographic and filmic media for the broadcasting and cognitive technologies of totalitarianism.—
Nan Z. Da
June 10,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2025
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Hannah Arendt and the Fight for the Truth (Public Books) by John Plotz Hannah Arendt famously wrote about totalitarianism.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Its champions gradually came to reinterpret the end of licensing as a natural consequence of the Revolution of 1688—part of the progression from tyrannical absolutism to parliamentary monarchy.—
Fara Dabhoiwala,
Harpers Magazine,
4 June 2025
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Women, regardless of hue, were excluded from the ballot with monastic absolutism.—
Jack Hill,
Baltimore Sun,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalism. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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