absolutism

[ ab-suh-loo-tiz-uhm ]
/ ˈæb sə luˌtɪz əm /

noun

the principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.
any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.

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Origin of absolutism

First recorded in 1745–55

SYNONYMS FOR absolutism

1 totalitarianism.

OTHER WORDS FROM absolutism

Words nearby absolutism

absolute viscosity, absolute zero, absolutely, absolutely convergent, absolution, absolutism, absolutive, absolutize, absolutory, absolve, absonant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for non-absolutist

absolutism
/ (ˈæbsəluːˌtɪzəm) /

noun

the principle or practice of a political system in which unrestricted power is vested in a monarch, dictator, etc; despotism
philosophy
  1. any theory which holds that truth or moral or aesthetic value is absolute and universal and not relative to individual or social differencesCompare relativism
  2. the doctrine that reality is unitary and unchanging and that change and diversity are mere illusionSee also monism (def. 2), pluralism (def. 5b)
Christianity an uncompromising form of the doctrine of predestination

Derived forms of absolutism

absolutist, noun, adjective
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