as in tyranny
a system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power
in times of crisis, when a nation's people are frightened, there are often calls for totalitarianism
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Recent Examples of totalitarianism
After Al Qaeda and then Saddam Hussein abruptly emerged as incarnations of a new totalitarianism, Michael Ignatieff and Niall Ferguson, among many others, impatiently urged the United States to assume its imperial obligations and impose democracy, human rights, and free trade through war.
—
Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
This was about stopping totalitarianism.
—NBC news, 23 Nov. 2025
Also, in part as a defense against totalitarianism, many countries signed on to international agreements upholding academic freedom, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
—David P. Baker, The Conversation, 18 Nov. 2025
The Emergency is not a story of totalitarianism.
—Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
This was about stopping totalitarianism.
—NBC news, 23 Nov. 2025
Also, in part as a defense against totalitarianism, many countries signed on to international agreements upholding academic freedom, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
—David P. Baker, The Conversation, 18 Nov. 2025
The Emergency is not a story of totalitarianism.
—Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarianism
Noun
-
The American public is dismayed and frustrated that Congress is not stepping up to protect our nation against the extreme tyranny of this administration.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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Those divergent truths point to the sober reality that the vast majority of people who have existed on this planet lived under some form of tyranny.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Drawing on her everyday experiences as a single mother, her work addresses issues connected to the political domestication of women, authoritarianism and fascism, the patriarchy and capitalism.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
7 May 2026
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But these arrangements fell apart as fascism rose across Europe and Asia and regimes from Nazi Germany to Imperial Japan denounced their international legal obligations.—
Vivek Krishnamurthy,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Noun
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Anti-dictatorship, but for kids Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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In a nation that has long prided itself on a free and vibrant news media, rights watchdogs and lawmakers from across the political spectrum denounced the move as an attack on the press without precedent since the end of Argentina’s military dictatorship in 1983.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
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Drawing on her everyday experiences as a single mother, her work addresses issues connected to the political domestication of women, authoritarianism and fascism, the patriarchy and capitalism.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarianism. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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