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.
Countries that move from authoritarian to democratic rule are said to be in “transition to democracy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
A general finding is that while structural weakness in authoritarian institutions can contribute to democratic transitions, it is insufficient.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
“Government officials live on military bases or other sorts of fortified zones in authoritarian regimes.”
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
“Defiance” offers a prism on Syria’s authoritarian society before the 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war, and vivid snapshots of the devastation that the war unleashed.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
In 1959, a rebel force led by Fidel Castro had overthrown the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, an authoritarian leader supported by the United States and by the many American companies doing business on the island.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
