authoritarian
Americanadjective
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favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom.
authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
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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.
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exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others.
an authoritarian parent.
noun
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authoritarians
plural
adjective
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favouring, denoting, or characterized by strict obedience to authority
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favouring, denoting, or relating to government by a small elite with wide powers
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despotic; dictatorial; domineering
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antiauthoritarianismnoun
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authoritarianismnoun
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antiauthoritarianadjective
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nonauthoritarianadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of authoritarian
First recorded in 1875–80; authorit(y) + -arian
Explanation
If your teacher orders you to detention every time you show up to class with a dull pencil, you could probably describe her as an authoritarian — a ruler who prefers order to freedom. Authoritarian and authority both begin with author, which comes from an ancient Latin word meaning "master," "teacher," or "leader." The connection between authoritarian and master is obvious enough, and you can think of an author as the master of the fictional world she creates. Authoritarian is also an adjective. That teacher with the rule against dull pencils? You can use the noun form to say that she's an authoritarian, or you can use an adjective and skip the "an": "She's authoritarian."
Vocabulary lists containing authoritarian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Power Suffix: -arian
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Government
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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.
See Examples For:
“I think their entire approach is about this openness and also a real, critical look at authoritarian regimes of the past and this whole era.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
On the final day of the authoritarian Chinese leader's trip, Trump and his wife Melania brought Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan to the imposing National Archives building.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
By 2017, Russia was a kind of soft authoritarian regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Starship Troopers” was the Dutch director’s joke about how quickly the U.S. could slide into unwitting fascism, using author Robert Heinlein’s unironic authoritarian bent as the set-up to his punchline.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
His first name is Josef and they call him Uncle Joe, because he has a mustache and an Eastern European accent and is authoritarian in his opinions.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Thanks to Judge Charles Ouslander for his asylum ruling, which shows the U.S. can still be a beacon for liberty and a refuge for dissidents from the world’s cruel authoritarians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
“It also sends a strong message to authoritarians around the world that the free world remains united,” he said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
She said it was "important that people can hear what I have to say", adding that she is "standing up to authoritarians who want to silence debate".
From BBC ● May 30, 2023
Carter also expanded the State Department’s report on human rights in each country, an annual document authoritarians loathed and feared.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
We are not authoritarians, but we must be organizers.
From Violence and the Labor Movement by Robert Hunter
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.
