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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
These cars are sensational, liberating Honda’s engineering excellence from the tyranny of front-wheel drive.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Andrew Garfield leads the feature that is now in production, portraying the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Politically or electorally speaking, Maoism could hardly be less relevant in this day and age—no one wants egalitarian totalitarianism anymore than (most) people want fascism.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Right-wing figures have blamed the Left for increasing the political temperature and resulting in Kirk’s assassination by weaponizing accusations of fascism, Nazism, and various kinds of bigotry.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Minister Kabawat is a member of the Christian minority and a longtime member of the opposition to the former dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad that was defeated by Al-Shara in late 2024.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
-
After the fall of Hungary’s Communist dictatorship, dozens of decommissioned monuments were sent to Budapest’s Memento Park, including the boots from an enormous statue of Stalin, which had been torn down by irate crowds.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Politically or electorally speaking, Maoism could hardly be less relevant in this day and age—no one wants egalitarian totalitarianism anymore than (most) people want fascism.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
-
In times of uncertainty, particularly under the growing threat of totalitarianism, utopian fantasies provide a way to reflect on the situation and, potentially, outline a path toward a positive outcome.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lyra’s quest to understand Dust brings her into confrontation with human and other worldly forces who champion moral absolutism over imagination, ignorance over knowledge, authoritarianism over free will and cold, disinterested rationality over empathy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
-
As Perez wrote, Musk’s free-speech absolutism was a fiction perpetuated by a pliant media.—
Jacob Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Two veteran data journalists are launching a new investigative publication to cover rising authoritarianism from the shadowy corners of the internet.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Vika Lomasko on authoritarianism, political art, and her book, The Last Soviet Artist.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalism. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share