absolutism
[ ab-suh-loo-tiz-uhm ]
/ ˈæb sə luˌtɪz əm /
noun
the principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.
any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
absolute viscosity, absolute zero, absolutely, absolutely convergent, absolution, absolutism, absolutist, absolutive, absolutize, absolutory, absolve
Origin of absolutism
First recorded in 1745–55
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for absolutism
British Dictionary definitions for absolutism
absolutism
/ (ˈæbsəluːˌtɪzəm) /
noun
the principle or practice of a political system in which unrestricted power is vested in a monarch, dictator, etc; despotism
philosophy
- any theory which holds that truth or moral or aesthetic value is absolute and universal and not relative to individual or social differencesCompare relativism
- the doctrine that reality is unitary and unchanging and that change and diversity are mere illusionSee also monism (def. 2), pluralism (def. 5b)
Christianity an uncompromising form of the doctrine of predestination
Derived Formsabsolutist, noun, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for absolutism
absolutism
1753 in theology; 1830 in politics, in which sense it was first used by British reformer and parliamentarian Maj. Gen. Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783-1869). See absolute and -ism.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper