thought police

British  

noun

1. a group of people with totalitarian views on a given subject, who constantly monitor others for any deviation from prescribed thinking

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Etymology

Origin of thought police

C20: from the Thought Police described by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Example Sentences

He thought police would acknowledge there had been "lapses in their normal procedures" by assessing the death as non-suspicious - but understood why it could have happened.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

She didn’t report it because she didn’t know the man and thought police would refuse to investigate.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024

There’s already a strong sense among conspiracy theorists that there’s a well-organized thought police, so organized efforts to fight these ideas have little chance to succeed.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2023

The “clearly” is debatable, given Gervais’s long history of posturing that his humor is too real for the thought police.

From New York Times • Jul. 26, 2021

Odd—when Pax had ruled, there were thought police and the cardinal sin was to be a liberal, to experiment, to seek knowledge.

From Star Born by Norton, Andre