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 Serra’s work, nothing claims to be site-specific, and nothing claims to be seen, shown, or commemorated—these are the actual conditions of object experience in a social and economic order ruled by the dual tyranny of compulsive consumption and spectacle.—
Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
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Opposition to tyranny lies at the heart of every freedom movement.—
Daniel Twining,
National Review,
22 May 2025
Noun
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At the Seder, Molly compared liberatory ideas to the wind, an invisible force that blows everywhere and can’t be contained, even in the face of fascism.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
-
This is a core manifestation of fascism — using federal forces to put down dissent.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Miami Dade College also owns the Freedom Tower, an iconic building that once welcomed Cubans fleeing the Fidel Castro dictatorship.—
Douglas Hanks,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 June 2025
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The order bars entry for most applicants seeking tourist, student and business visas, further narrowing the few remaining legal pathways for families torn apart by dictatorship, displacement and economic collapse.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
5 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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Women, regardless of hue, were excluded from the ballot with monastic absolutism.—
Jack Hill,
Baltimore Sun,
17 May 2025
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Bolton’s moral absolutism does not play well there.—
Christopher Sabatini,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Mar. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Totalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalism. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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