totalitarian

American  

[toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uhn] / toʊˌtæl ɪˈtɛər i ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.

2. exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.

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noun

1. an adherent of totalitarianism.

totalitarian British  

/ təʊˌtælɪˈtɛərɪən /

adjective

1. of, denoting, relating to, or characteristic of a dictatorial one-party state that regulates every realm of life

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noun

1. a person who advocates or practises totalitarian policies

Other Word Forms

• antitotalitarian
  adjective
• nontotalitarian
  adjective
• totalitarianism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of totalitarian

First recorded in 1925–30; totalit(y) + -arian

Explanation

You can decipher the meaning of totalitarian by the first part: "total." It refers to a government with total power, one that exercises complete, even oppressive control over the people and their activities. (You can also figure it’s not nice.) The word totalitarian first came about in 1926 as totalitario, an adjective to describe the Italian fascism of that time. The English form was adapted from the Italian to describe an absolutely powerful regime. Socialist leader Norman Thomas once said: "To us Americans much has been given; of us much is required. With all our faults and mistakes, it is our strength in support of the freedom our forefathers loved which has saved mankind from subjection to totalitarian power."

Example Sentences

Totalitarian abuses of power and the banal ascendancy of evil aren’t stopped with mere pity, she maintained, but with thoughtfulness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Libor Svoboda, a historian at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, called the law a "hodgepodge" in its current shape but admitted it had fulfilled its task in the past.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

Totalitarian leaders tend toward charismatic styles and have a genuine bond of loyalty with their followers, who often express extreme, exaggerated enthusiasm for the leader and his movement.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2025

He is the author of “Race and the Totalitarian Century: Geopolitics in the Black Literary Imagination.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2023

Totalitarian systems depend on a monopoly of information and force, and too much information started to slip through the Iron Curtain, thanks to the spread of fax machines, telephones, and, eventually, the personal computer.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• authoritarian
• autocratic
• monolithic
• oppressive
• tyrannical