totalitarian 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of totalitariannext
as in oppressive
controlling the people of a country in a very strict way with complete power that cannot be opposed A totalitarian state that did not even allow outsiders to visit.

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totalitarian

2 of 2

noun

as in authoritarian

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of totalitarian
Adjective
The president’s controversial response to the article seemed to take aim at the column’s calls for order and authority, which Petro appeared to compare to the totalitarian regime under Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. — Alfie Pannell, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026 The moment comes in a scene between a pre-Gilead Lydia amid the totalitarian takeover and one of the men, Commander Judd (Charlie Carrick), who becomes a high-ranking leader in the fictional fascist government. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
But, ten years later, his embrace of near-totalitarian control bears the deep imprint of his most personal beliefs about force, weakness, faith, and order. — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2022 Some of his most popular works were surrealistic fantasies set in grisly worlds run by totalitarians and conformists. — Fox News, 28 June 2018 See All Example Sentences for totalitarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totalitarian
  1. oppressive
  2. authoritarian
  3. potentate
  4. autocrat
  5. dictator
  6. tyrant
Adjective
  • Other booths included photo opportunities dressed in traditional Colonial garb, hands-on historical exhibits and interactive displays that offered visitors a break from the oppressive heat.
    — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Due to the oppressive heat, the Phillies have adjusted operations through Thursday's game.
    — Eva Andersen, CBS News, 2 July 2026
Definition of oppressive
Noun
  • Yet this year so far has been a dicey one for the Russian authoritarian.
    — Daniel DePetris, Mercury News, 23 May 2026
  • Yet this year so far has been a dicey one for the Russian authoritarian.
    — Daniel DePetris, Twin Cities, 15 May 2026
Definition of authoritarian
Noun
  • With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 26 June 2026
  • With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
    — Danica Kirka, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of potentate
Noun
  • Marcos Pérez Jiménez, the autocrat who ruled the country in the mid-twentieth century, commissioned modern architectural projects to project an image of the country as, if not progressive, at the very least progressing.
    — Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • Conquerors and autocrats may win the immediate battle by bullying their subjects into submission, but their empires inevitably crumble the moment their iron grip falters.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of autocrat
Noun
  • Its flint-hearted ferocity was a return to what the dynasts of the past—warlords, kings, and dictators—would find routine.
    — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
  • And following the ousting of longtime dictator Bashir Al-Assad, Syria continues to have armed conflict and sectarian violence.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026
Definition of dictator
Noun
  • Because, after all, as in all of Haber’s novels, the point is not really what is happening in the world but what is happening in the mind—in this case the mind of the pettiest of tyrants.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
  • Joseph Stalin—the Soviet Union’s supreme ruler from 1929 to 1953 and a murderous tyrant legendary for drinking friends and enemies under the table—was a closet oenophile, the e-mail explained.
    — Frankie Mills, Air Mail, 27 June 2026
Definition of tyrant

Browse Nearby Words

totalism
totalitarian
totalitarianism
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Cite this Entry

“Totalitarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totalitarian. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of totalitarian for Spanish Speakers

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