police state

American  

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.

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police state British  

noun

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

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police state Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of police state

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Here, it justifies the creation of a dystopian, paranoid police state because it will make it easier to find someone’s lost dog.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026

AI standards were spelled out in a landmark document, officially implemented last month, that was drafted by cyberspace regulators, cybersecurity police, state labs and China’s leading AI companies, including Alibaba and DeepSeek.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

He’s also enlisted local police, state troopers and private security for the events.

From Salon • May 5, 2025

Some of the Americans who crossed were driven by evangelical zeal or simply attracted by the mystery of a severely cloistered police state fueled by anti-U.S. hatred.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2023

Shin did not yet know this, but grassroots capitalism, vagabond trading, and rampant corruption were creating cracks in the police state that surrounded Camp 14.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden