as in oppressive
controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed
A totalitarian state that did not even allow outsiders to visit.
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as in authoritarian
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totalitarian
Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
Some of his most popular works were surrealistic fantasies set in grisly worlds run by totalitarians and conformists.
—Fox News, 28 June 2018
Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Contemporary leaders and still-in-progress totalitarian regimes bump up against Ralph Steadman’s caricature sketches for an edition of Animal Farm, Orwell’s second most famous book, and clips from three different screen adaptations of 1984, his most famous work.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Adjective
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
Some of his most popular works were surrealistic fantasies set in grisly worlds run by totalitarians and conformists.
—Fox News, 28 June 2018
Noun
That’s how a totalitarian regime operates.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Contemporary leaders and still-in-progress totalitarian regimes bump up against Ralph Steadman’s caricature sketches for an edition of Animal Farm, Orwell’s second most famous book, and clips from three different screen adaptations of 1984, his most famous work.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
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After a summer of oppressive heat, October is when New York City hits its stride.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Raducanu had her blood pressure taken during the match, which was played in oppressive heat and humidity, before retiring down 6-1, 4-1.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Not your grandma’s authoritarians Today’s authoritarian rulers realize that civil society has the potential to support democracy and pry loose their grip on power.—
Christopher Justin Einolf,
The Conversation,
26 Sep. 2025
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That is why censorship is the authoritarian's dream.—
Robert Birsel
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Why don’t all the rich potentates, sheiks, oligarchs and MAGA dictators meet and fix it?—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2025
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With the pandemic, the year-round population of a once-seasonal resort town swelled with Manhattan refugees, those in the Trump orbit, and tech and finance potentates, many of them serious collectors like Ken Griffin and Steve Ross.—
Ben Widdicombe,
Vulture,
12 May 2025
Noun
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By prohibiting questions and challenges, autocrats gain the power to limit how people think and control their bodies.—
Elizabeth Anne Wood,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
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Egyptian-British blogger and activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah,rose to prominence as an impassioned voice in the Arab Spring uprising that toppled Egypt's veteran autocrat and has since become a symbol of the struggle for human rights in his country.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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These deployments are nothing more than partisan spite from an increasingly unhinged aspiring dictator, and the Supreme Court must halt them.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As historian Timothy Snyder warns, tyrants will always take advantage of a national crisis to consolidate their power and remove their opponents’ civil liberties.—
Rev. Nathan Empsall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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So how should CHROs and other talent leaders handle reports of an office tyrant?—
Susan Caminiti,
CNBC,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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