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
Dave Smith, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
That’s how a totalitarian regime operates.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Adjective
Born on December 16, 1988, in Vlorë, Albania, during the final years of the country’s totalitarian regime, Murati’s early life was shaped by political upheaval and economic uncertainty.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
That’s how a totalitarian regime operates.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
-
These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Unlike the oppressive governments that have been affiliated with the socialist movement, modern-day democratic socialism strictly advocates for policies that can be enacted without threatening the power of the people.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
That is why censorship is the authoritarian's dream.—
Robert Birsel
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 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
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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
-
Lula’s insistence on maintaining ties with the late anti-American autocrat, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, stoked tensions.—
Ron Kampeas,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
-
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
Noun
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Since then, it has been linked to financial deals for dictators Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein, Islamic terrorist groups and government intelligence agencies including the CIA.—
Deena Sabry,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Hitler, the dictator who led Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945, was central in enacting the genocide of 6 million Jews.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Knowing that the tyrants in the Kremlin approved all these activities does not negate their positive impact on American society.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Although Pancho Villa was considered by many Mexicans a hero of that revolution, my great-grandfather regarded him as a tyrant who forced Indigenous people into battle, treating them as little more than cannon fodder.—
jsonline.com,
jsonline.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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