police state

noun

1. a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.

police state

noun

1. a state or country in which a repressive government maintains control through the police

police state

1. A nation whose rulers maintain order and obedience by the threat of police or military force; one with a brutal, arbitrary government.

Word History and Origins

Origin of police state¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

The underground church isn’t really secret in the police state that is China.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The police state tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the outright abuse of due process and civil liberties.

Read more on Salon

All those motherf***ers who are out there arresting U.S. citizens, violating habeas corpus and bending rules to enforce a police state deserve a lot more than a sandwich dumped on them.

Read more on Salon

This may not yet fit the technical definition of a police state, but it’s sure beginning to look like one.

Read more on Salon

What better way to demonstrate our new constitution-shredding, authoritarian police state?

Read more on Salon