authoritarian

[uh-thawr-i-tair-ee-uh n, uh-thor-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR authoritarian ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

a person who favors or acts according to authoritarian principles.

Origin of authoritarian

First recorded in 1875–80; authorit(y) + -arian

Related formsau·thor·i·tar·i·an·ism, nounan·ti·au·thor·i·tar·i·an, adjectivean·ti·au·thor·i·tar·i·an·ism, nounnon·au·thor·i·tar·i·an, adjective

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

Related Words for authoritarian

dictatorial, imperious, totalitarian, strict, rigid, autocratic, tyrannical, autocrat, disciplinarian, doctrinaire, absolute, dictator, tyrant, despot, absolutist, authoritative, despotic, dogmatic, harsh, magisterial

Examples from the Web for authoritarian

Contemporary Examples of authoritarian

And yes, that authoritarian, patriarchal guru-power structure, invariably, always leads to abuses.
Is India’s Fallen ‘God-Man’ So Different From a Megachurch Pastor?
Jay Michaelson
November 21, 2014
Perhaps that name should not be felt so ruefully today, despite the reversion to authoritarian control in Egypt.
You Say You Want to Name a Revolution?
Jack DuVall
October 5, 2014
Rivers continued on her political, authoritarian monologue by describing what kind of tyrant she would be.
What Joan Rivers Said She Would Do If She Were Dictator of America
Asawin Suebsaeng
September 5, 2014
The crisis in neighbouring Ukraine has rattled Alexander Lukashenko's authoritarian regime.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, June 14, 2014
The Daily Beast
June 14, 2014
Coaches have, nevertheless, found Zaatari a somewhat more accommodating sporting environment than their authoritarian homeland.
Syria’s Female Refugee Soccer Stars
Peter Schwartzstein
March 31, 2014

Historical Examples of authoritarian

At this yielding he, being by nature an authoritarian, seemed not a little pleased.
The God of Love
Justin Huntly McCarthy
He has the harsh, authoritarian manner of the provincial of importance.
Three Plays
Luigi Pirandello
These are the authoritarian or State Socialist and the individualist methods.
Anarchy
Errico Malatesta
A third point to be noted is the authoritarian character of the regime of the future.
The Idea of Progress
J. B. Bury
The authoritarian nightmare of the 1960s has come home for them.
Little Brother
Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for authoritarian

authoritarian

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

a person who favours or practises authoritarian policies

Derived Formsauthoritarianism, noun

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 authoritarian

adj.

1862, "favoring imposed order over freedom," from authority + -an. Cf. authoritative, which originally had this meaning to itself. Noun in the sense of one advocating or practicing such governance is from 1859.