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
Meredith G. White, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Casting the sweet-faced and unflappably mellow Dano — Eli Sunday his Vadim Baranov is not — as Putin’s kingmaker also assures that Assayas isn’t keen on high drama, with conversations in conference rooms plotting totalitarian takeover rarely rising above library-voice level.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 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
The film is set in a dystopian America where the totalitarian government has banned various things like certain books, films and music, and created an annual contest called The Long Walk where one young man from every state is chosen via a voluntary lottery system to participate.
—Meredith G. White, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Casting the sweet-faced and unflappably mellow Dano — Eli Sunday his Vadim Baranov is not — as Putin’s kingmaker also assures that Assayas isn’t keen on high drama, with conversations in conference rooms plotting totalitarian takeover rarely rising above library-voice level.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
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Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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This process includes questioning the logics and myths that uphold the status quo and calling out oppression as part of the struggle toward an anti-oppressive future.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Trump isn't responsible for such long-term trends as Beijing's determination to rival the United States in global influence, or Putin's evolution to an entrenched authoritarian with expansionist ambitions.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Why don’t all the rich potentates, sheiks, oligarchs and MAGA dictators meet and fix it?—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2025
-
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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Fear, after all, is an essential tool for all autocrats, and Hamas is no exception.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
To an aspiring autocrat, power exists so that it can be abused.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Her party, the Brothers of Italy, was founded by followers of former dictator Benito Mussolini as a post-fascist movement following WWII.—
Dan Gooding
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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For Machado and the Venezuelan opposition, embracing a narrative in which Maduro is a drug lord, not just a dictator, is a bit of a gamble.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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McDaniel has never been a screamer or a tyrant like some old-school coaches.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The tyrant dies and his rule is over.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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