totalitarian[adjective]Synonyms: dictatorial, authoritarian, despotic, oppressive, tyrannous, undemocratic
Contrasted words: democratic, popular, constitutional
English Thesaurus: government, administration, regime, the executive, democracy, ... [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
to‧tal‧i‧tar‧i‧an /təʊˌtæləˈteəriən, təʊˌtælɪˈteəriən $ toʊˌtæləˈter-/
adjective[
Date: 1900-2000;
Origin: total + -itarian (as in authoritarian)]
based on a political system in which ordinary people have no power and are completely controlled by the government
a totalitarian state/regime—totalitarianism noun [uncountable] [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
government [uncountable and countable] the group of people who govern a country or the system they use to govern it:
The French government did not sign the agreement. a democratic system of governmentadministration [countable] the government of a country, especially one such as the US, which is led by a president:
the Kennedy administration the problems left by the previous adminstrationregime [countable] a government, especially one that was not elected fairly or that you disapprove of:
Most people opposed the apartheid regime.the executive [singular] the part of the government that makes sure that laws and decisions work well:
the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciarydemocracy [uncountable and countable] a political system in which everyone can vote to choose the government, or a country that has this system:
The transition to democracy has not been easy. In a democracy, people have freedom of speech.republic [countable] a country that has an elected government, and is led by a president, not a king or queen:
Mauritius became a republic in 1992.monarchy [uncountable and countable] /ˈmɒnəki $ ˈmɑːnərki/ the system of having a king or queen as the head of state, or a country that has this system:
Some monarchies have elected governments. controversy about the institution of monarchydictatorship [uncountable and countable] a political system or country that has a
dictator (=a leader who has complete power and who has not been elected):
Argentina was a military dictatorship until 1983. Hungary’s years of dictatorshiptotalitarian adjective [only before noun] used for describing countries in which ordinary people have no power and the government has complete control over everything:
totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany a totalitarian dictatorshippolice state [countable] a country where the government strictly controls people’s freedom, for example to travel or to talk about politics:
It’s like living in a police state. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲