authoritarian
Americanadjective
-
favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom.
authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
-
of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
-
exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others.
an authoritarian parent.
noun
adjective
-
favouring, denoting, or characterized by strict obedience to authority
-
favouring, denoting, or relating to government by a small elite with wide powers
-
despotic; dictatorial; domineering
noun
Other Word Forms
- antiauthoritarian adjective
- antiauthoritarianism noun
- authoritarianism noun
- nonauthoritarian adjective
Etymology
Origin of authoritarian
First recorded in 1875–80; authorit(y) + -arian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I didn't know that there were any other ways of parenting a child other than authoritarian, but I loved it and it really sat with everything I wanted to do," she says.
From BBC
The regime remains authoritarian and led by an absolute monarchy.
From BBC
The regime remains authoritarian and led by an absolute monarchy, but culturally, society has been opening up and the country is trying to develop its economy beyond a reliance on oil.
From BBC
He stays gruff, of course, but you sense that Ray is as manacled by his authoritarian role as Colin literally is in his hungry, slurping devotion to his master.
From Los Angeles Times
Her experience navigating authoritarian governments and fragmented opposition movements makes her a pragmatic choice for a volatile post-Maduro transition.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
