totalitarian

[ toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh n ]

/ toʊˌtæl ɪˈtɛər i ən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR totalitarian ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

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

noun

an adherent of totalitarianism.

Words nearby totalitarian

total reflection, total serialism, total transfusion, totalism, totalistic, totalitarian, totalitarianism, totalitarianize, totality, totalizator, totalize

Origin of totalitarian

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

OTHER WORDS FROM totalitarian

an·ti·to·tal·i·tar·i·an, adjectivenon·to·tal·i·tar·i·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for totalitarian

Indeed, history has shown us just how much of a threat schlocky Hollywood entertainment is to totalitarian governments.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom|Lizzie Crocker|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kundera was reacting against the efforts of 20th-century totalitarian regimes to refashion novelists as propagandists.
The Birth of the Novel|Nick Romeo|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Biographer Andrew Roberts argues that history has maligned Napoleon by lumping him in with totalitarian thugs.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator|J.P. O’Malley|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One has to admit that a totalitarian empire is impossible without the Iron Curtain or a system of complete information isolation.
Putin’s Dream of Empire Doesn’t Stop at Crimea, Or Even Ukraine|Oleg Shynkarenko|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When he says ‘totalitarian liberalism,’ he means that the right of the nation trumps human rights.
Can Ukraine Control Its Far Right Ultranationalists?|Oleg Shynkarenko|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Modern China faces more than political problems; a totalitarian revolution has engulfed it.
Government in Republican China|Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger
In the totalitarian East there is political censorship, and the media of mass communications are controlled by the State.
Freedom|Dallas McCord Reynolds
Convince her its governments were evil, totalitarian, when in reality they were democratic?
A World Called Crimson|Darius John Granger
The totalitarian state does not recognize personal liberties for the individual.
Readings on Fascism and National Socialism|Various
The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches|Various

British Dictionary definitions for totalitarian

totalitarian

/ (təʊˌtælɪˈtɛərɪən) /

adjective

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

noun

a person who advocates or practises totalitarian policies

Derived forms of totalitarian

totalitarianism, noun

Word Origin for totalitarian

from totality + -arian

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

totalitarian

adjective

noun

Content related to totalitarian

Words related to totalitarian

Words nearby totalitarian

Origin of totalitarian

OTHER WORDS FROM totalitarian

Examples from the Web for totalitarian

British Dictionary definitions for totalitarian

adjective

noun

Derived forms of totalitarian

Word Origin for totalitarian