absolutism

American  

[ab-suh-loo-tiz-uhm] / ˈæb sə luˌtɪz əm /

noun

1. the principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.

   Synonyms:

   totalitarianism

2. any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.

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absolutism British  

/ ˈæbsəluːˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the principle or practice of a political system in which unrestricted power is vested in a monarch, dictator, etc; despotism

2. philosophy

   1. any theory which holds that truth or moral or aesthetic value is absolute and universal and not relative to individual or social differences Compare relativism

   2. the doctrine that reality is unitary and unchanging and that change and diversity are mere illusion See also monism pluralism

3. Christianity an uncompromising form of the doctrine of predestination

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonabsolutistic
  adjective
• absolutistically
  adverb
• absolutist
  noun
• nonabsolutistically
  adverb
• absolutistic
  adjective
• proabsolutism
  noun
• proabsolutist
  adjective
• nonabsolutist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of absolutism

First recorded in 1745–55

Explanation

Absolutism is the principle of complete and unrestricted government power, usually in the hands of one person, a dictator or despot. This word sounds big, but it's really just an extension of the word absolute. If you have absolute power, you control everything. The problem with this is that absolutism can survive only through dominance, threat of punishment, and violence — in other words, tyranny. And, as the British historian Lord Acton noted in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Example Sentences

Absolutism is always reductive, and therefore, like the inability to sympathize with one’s enemies, is an anathema to art.

From Slate • Mar. 10, 2021

Absolutism is Winterson's forte, and it's the perfect mode to verify supernatural events when they occur.

From The Guardian • Aug. 16, 2012

Absolutism was the political belief that one ruler should hold all the power within the boundaries of a country.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

For the full truth is that while the Yogi represents the old Absolutism, the Abbot is feeling his way to a wider and more human world-view.

From Nature Mysticism by Mercer, John Edward

Every one knows how Absolutism succeeded in dominating the National Assembly, and how presently reaction brought the following leaders into power: Manteuffel, whose policy led to the unfortunate Austrian triumph at Olmutz.

From The Prussian Terror by Dumas, Alexandre