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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in authoritarian
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 totalitarian
Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
Hulu's Emmy-winning series pushed far beyond the events in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book, building to a rebellion in the totalitarian, patriarchal nation where women are dehumanized and used as vessels for breeding.
—EW.com, 28 May 2025
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2022
But that would not address the fundamental goal of the protests: to end the totalitarian stranglehold that has subjected the Cubans to an unbearable serfdom.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Adjective
In Feeding Ghosts, the disconnect between Sun Yi’s training and instincts as a journalist, and the requirements of the increasingly totalitarian Communist regime to make reality conform to their narrative, literally drove her insane.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
Hulu's Emmy-winning series pushed far beyond the events in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book, building to a rebellion in the totalitarian, patriarchal nation where women are dehumanized and used as vessels for breeding.
—EW.com, 28 May 2025
Noun
But, ten years later, his embrace of near-totalitarian control bears the deep imprint of his most personal beliefs about force, weakness, faith, and order.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2022
But that would not address the fundamental goal of the protests: to end the totalitarian stranglehold that has subjected the Cubans to an unbearable serfdom.
—Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
-
More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.—
Carlos Cubelo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
-
The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
But then again, almost everything Trump does is right out of the authoritarian playbook.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 June 2025
-
Any center of liberal and free thought from pop music to Ivy League universities is vulnerable to authoritarian impulses.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
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
-
But in his mid-80s, King George ponders whether to abdicate and devote his remaining days to finding female companionship (the aging potentate remains potent with the help of Viagra and similar pharmaceuticals).—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
5 May 2025
Noun
-
Trump is somewhat incompetent at being an autocrat right now.—
Steve Inskeep,
NPR,
6 June 2025
-
Others counter that labeling Trump an autocrat is alarmist.—
Daniel Treisman,
The Conversation,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
In theory, Lee and Trump are well suited as a pair to wrangle the North Korean dictator.—
John Delury,
Foreign Affairs,
3 June 2025
-
Individual rights shield us from the initiation of physical force – whether by tax collectors, or dictators threatening us with missiles.—
Ben Bayer,
Oc Register,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
The Russian tyrant has now cost his country hundreds of thousands of lives and huge portions of its military capability.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
-
Never mind that the Dodgers have been a rip-roaring success on the Golden Coast and that O’Malley was forced into a corner by a New York City tyrant named Robert Moses.—
Steve Silverman,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share