totalitarian

[toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh n]

adjective

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.

exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.

noun

an adherent of totalitarianism.

Origin of totalitarian

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

Related formsan·ti·to·tal·i·tar·i·an, adjectivenon·to·tal·i·tar·i·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anti-totalitarian

Contemporary Examples of anti-totalitarian

He would later say that the war pitted the anti-totalitarian left against the anti-imperialist left.
My Friend and Mentor, Christopher Hitchens
Eli Lake
December 16, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for anti-totalitarian

totalitarian

adjective

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

noun

a person who advocates or practises totalitarian policies

Derived Formstotalitarianism, noun

Word Origin for totalitarian

from totality + -arian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anti-totalitarian

totalitarian

adj.

1926, first in reference to Italian fascism, formed in English on model of Italian totalitario "complete, absolute, totalitarian," from the Italian cognate of English total (adj.). The noun is recorded from 1938.