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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Every other protection against tyranny and political oppression — that is, every aspect of a stable democratic system — suffers a possibly mortal blow if the basic tenets of an independent judiciary and the adversarial advocacy of lawyers are abandoned or lost.—
Michael Mcauliffe,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2025
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Separated by 250 years, these two actions both supposedly raise the question: Just how much tyranny ...—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
25 Mar. 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 11 May. 2025.
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