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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as in authoritarian
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totalitarian
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
20 May 2026
Possible sharing of nuclear secrets The claim that North Korea was the likely recipient of the two reactors allegedly aboard the ship comes after the secretive totalitarian regime released images in December 2025 of its first nuclear submarine.
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Pau Mosquera,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
Sarah Todd,
Quartz,
27 Dec. 2019
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
Adjective
The heartbreaking and ironic thing is that democracy has given rise, through the proper, right voting mechanism, to this kind of totalitarian regime.
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Zack Sharf,
Variety,
20 May 2026
Possible sharing of nuclear secrets The claim that North Korea was the likely recipient of the two reactors allegedly aboard the ship comes after the secretive totalitarian regime released images in December 2025 of its first nuclear submarine.
—
Pau Mosquera,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
Noun
And there’s another reason why totalitarians capable of horrific human rights violations are a real hosting nightmare.
—
Sarah Todd,
Quartz,
27 Dec. 2019
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
Adjective
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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.
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Due to the oppressive heat, the Phillies have adjusted operations through Thursday's game.
Noun
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Yet this year so far has been a dicey one for the Russian authoritarian.
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Yet this year so far has been a dicey one for the Russian authoritarian.
Noun
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With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
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With 775 rooms, the palace also provides office space for the royal bureaucracy and hosts lavish state dinners for visiting presidents and potentates.
Noun
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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.
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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.
Noun
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Its flint-hearted ferocity was a return to what the dynasts of the past—warlords, kings, and dictators—would find routine.
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And following the ousting of longtime dictator Bashir Al-Assad, Syria continues to have armed conflict and sectarian violence.
Noun
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These were the grounds of revolution in 1776 and what colonists held to be the markings of a tyrant.
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Aegon, dragged out of King’s Landing by spymaster Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) in an effort to save him from the fratricidal Aemond, gets an up-close look at the petty tyrants who have sprouted up in the countryside thanks to his impetuous rule.
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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