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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Recent Examples of totalitarian
Katya Soldak, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
George Orwell's haunting vision of a totalitarian future is thoughtfully explored in this film adaptation of his seminal novel, in which humble worker Winston Smith (John Hurt) and his fellow citizens must deal with constant surveillance by the government, punishing all those who fall out of line.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Néstor T. Carbonell, National Review, 16 July 2021
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Adjective
Organized by the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve, the exhibition presents documentary photography, archival materials, and video installations that chronicle the devastation of the city under two totalitarian regimes.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
George Orwell's haunting vision of a totalitarian future is thoughtfully explored in this film adaptation of his seminal novel, in which humble worker Winston Smith (John Hurt) and his fellow citizens must deal with constant surveillance by the government, punishing all those who fall out of line.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
Adjective
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The Collector is also hoping these will satiate the growing wants of his oppressive overlord, The Forger (Roddy Ricch), who has mysterious motives of his own.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2025
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Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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His parents were Italian immigrants who fled Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, and his grandmother Rosa Margherita Vassallo di Bergoglio was active in Catholic Action, formed by Italian bishops who wanted to maintain their independence from Mussolini’s authoritarian rule.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been called an authoritarian, and previous reports have noted restrictions to civil liberties.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, dated Feb. 21, 1925, carried no portraits of potentates or tycoons, no headlines, no come-ons.—
Christopher B. Daly,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2025
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Or were all those billionaire potentates in the Capitol Rotunda — seated in front of Trump’s Cabinet picks — asserting their social, economic and cultural hegemony?—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Maybe a less obvious point is that some of these other aspiring autocrats really have to care about audiences outside their own country.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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After Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the American public has become even more distrustful of the Russian autocrat.—
MICHAEL McFAUL,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Even Matyas Rakosi, Hungary's most brutal communist dictator, refused to move his office here, but Orban wants to play king, so the national gallery will eventually need to be moved out of the castle to make way for him.—
Rob Schmitz,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2025
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The drawdown also comes after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime in December.—
Ellen Mitchell,
The Hill,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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While the modern world rages outside their four walls, everything inside is immune to the tyrant of time.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2025
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Trump’s weird bromance with North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un came at the expense of Japan’s national security.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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