totalitarian

[ toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.
2. exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.

noun

1. an adherent of totalitarianism.

totalitarian

/ təʊˌtælɪˈtɛərɪən /

adjective

1. of, denoting, relating to, or characteristic of a dictatorial one-party state that regulates every realm of life

noun

1. a person who advocates or practises totalitarian policies

Derived Forms

• toˌtaliˈtarianism, noun

Other Words From

• anti·to·tali·tari·an adjective
• nonto·tali·tari·an adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of totalitarian¹

First recorded in 1925–30; totalit(y) + -arian

Word History and Origins

Origin of totalitarian¹

from totality + -arian

Example Sentences

Starting in 2018, the regime transitioned from a relatively free authoritarian system to a closed dictatorship, not quite totalitarian but close.

From Time

So in terms of capitalism, if the alternative is communism then yes, I think that there are actually excellent arguments why market society is better than a top-down authoritarian, totalitarian dictatorship.

From Nautilus

It’s akin to security agents from a totalitarian regime showing up at the house of an opposition leader looking for evidence of espionage.

From Washington Post

Indeed, history has shown us just how much of a threat schlocky Hollywood entertainment is to totalitarian governments.

From The Daily Beast

Kundera was reacting against the efforts of 20th-century totalitarian regimes to refashion novelists as propagandists.

From The Daily Beast

So you are saying that Napoleon was not a totalitarian-dictator as many historians are eager to suggest?

From The Daily Beast

Biographer Andrew Roberts argues that history has maligned Napoleon by lumping him in with totalitarian thugs.

From The Daily Beast

One has to admit that a totalitarian empire is impossible without the Iron Curtain or a system of complete information isolation.

From The Daily Beast

Convince her its governments were evil, totalitarian, when in reality they were democratic?

From Project Gutenberg

This totalitarian trading system insures that foreign trade serves the purposes of the state.

From Project Gutenberg

They would then be free to impose their will and spread their totalitarian ideology.

From Project Gutenberg

Modern China faces more than political problems; a totalitarian revolution has engulfed it.

From Project Gutenberg

The totalitarian state does not recognize personal liberties for the individual.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• authoritarian
• autocratic
• monolithic
• oppressive
• tyrannical