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
No matter what country, what system, there is always a risk of totalitarianism and of human rights being questioned.
—
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025
Time’s Echo by Jeremy Eichler Using four studies from the Second World War era—Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Benjamin Britten—this book contends with how music memorializes catastrophes and deals with totalitarianism, which may feel a bit on the nose right now.
—The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2025
And this particular slide into totalitarianism is a rather recent development (which gives one hope that it could be reversed).
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
With the help of grants from Jewish groups, social psychologists, sociologists, and other scholars investigated how antisemitism was connected to totalitarianism, religion and other forms of racial and ethnic stereotyping.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025
Time’s Echo by Jeremy Eichler Using four studies from the Second World War era—Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Benjamin Britten—this book contends with how music memorializes catastrophes and deals with totalitarianism, which may feel a bit on the nose right now.
—The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2025
And this particular slide into totalitarianism is a rather recent development (which gives one hope that it could be reversed).
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
With the help of grants from Jewish groups, social psychologists, sociologists, and other scholars investigated how antisemitism was connected to totalitarianism, religion and other forms of racial and ethnic stereotyping.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totalitarianism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarianism
Noun
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The Allies were an unprecedented coalition of countries, ideologies, and people of all walks of life who stood shoulder to shoulder to defeat tyranny.—
Lt. General Leon Scott Rice,
Boston Herald,
7 May 2025
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For decades, Hollywood cast the American hero — from Rick Blaine to John McClane, Rocky Balboa, Ethan Hunt and Captain America — as the planet’s natural protagonist: the first responder to global chaos, the last line of defense against tyranny.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
7 May 2025
Noun
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Join us for a timeless love story wrapped in smoky glamour and a firm middle finger to fascism.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
3 May 2025
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Within all that—and of more interest to me—is fascinating context about the interplay between democracy, fascism, communism, and religion in twentieth-century Europe, exemplified by one incredible sequence about Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Communist Poland.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Oesterheld was kidnapped during the Argentine military dictatorship in 1977 and presumed dead, which turned the graphic novel into a symbol of resistance.—
Isadora Wandermurem,
Time,
1 May 2025
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This agreement created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, giving full governing autonomy to Hungary, which Franz Joseph had placed under a military dictatorship following Hungarian nationals’ failed bid for independence in 1848.—
Elizabeth Djinis,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarianism. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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