authoritarian

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

adjective

1. favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom.

   authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.

2. 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.

3. exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others.

   an authoritarian parent.

noun

1. a person who favors or acts according to authoritarian principles.

authoritarian

/ ɔːˌθɒrɪˈtɛərɪən /

adjective

1. favouring, denoting, or characterized by strict obedience to authority

2. favouring, denoting, or relating to government by a small elite with wide powers

3. despotic; dictatorial; domineering

noun

1. a person who favours or practises authoritarian policies

Other Word Forms

• authoritarianism noun
• antiauthoritarian adjective
• antiauthoritarianism noun
• nonauthoritarian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of authoritarian¹

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

Example Sentences

Georgia's ruling party said Tuesday it has asked the Constitutional Court to ban the three main opposition forces, a move critics condemned as a final step toward authoritarian rule.

Read more on Barron's

And that agenda increasingly appears to be the end of free and fair elections, while maintaining the appearance of them — the classic authoritarian way of ruling with the seeming consent of the people.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

MAGA’s authoritarian tactics include voter nullification and voter suppression, intimidation of election officials, taking control of voting machines, and efforts to end mail-in voting.

Read more on Salon

The greater risk, he suggested, lies in concessions, negotiations or appeasement – call it what you will – that, however well motivated, only serve to further embolden an authoritarian power.

Read more on BBC

He was admired on the one hand for his no-nonsense drive to stamp out corruption but criticised on the other for his authoritarian clampdown on dissent and controversial attitude towards the Covid pandemic.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• autocratic 
• dictatorial 
• imperious 
• rigid 
• strict 
• totalitarian 
• tyrannical