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definitions

absolutism

[ab-suh-loo-tiz-uhm]
noun
  1. the principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.
  2. any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.

Origin of absolutism

First recorded in 1745–55
Related formsab·so·lut·ist, noun, adjectiveab·so·lu·tis·tic, adjectiveab·so·lu·tis·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·ab·so·lut·ist, nounnon·ab·so·lu·tis·tic, adjectivenon·ab·so·lu·tis·ti·cal·ly, adverbpro·ab·so·lut·ism, nounpro·ab·so·lut·ist, adjective, noun

Synonyms for absolutism

1. totalitarianism.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for non-absolutist

absolutism

noun
  1. the principle or practice of a political system in which unrestricted power is vested in a monarch, dictator, etc; despotism
  2. 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)
  3. Christianity an uncompromising form of the doctrine of predestination
Derived Formsabsolutist, 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
Word Origin and History for non-absolutist

absolutism

n.

1753 in theology; 1830 in politics, in which sense it was first used by British reformer and parliamentarian Maj. Gen. Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783-1869). See absolute and -ism.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper