absolutism

American  

[ab-suh-loo-tiz-uhm] / ˈæb sə luˌtɪz əm /

noun

1. the principle or the exercise of complete and unrestricted power in government.

   Synonyms:

   totalitarianism

2. any theory holding that values, principles, etc., are absolute and not relative, dependent, or changeable.

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absolutism British  

/ ˈæbsəluːˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the principle or practice of a political system in which unrestricted power is vested in a monarch, dictator, etc; despotism

2. philosophy

   1. any theory which holds that truth or moral or aesthetic value is absolute and universal and not relative to individual or social differences Compare relativism

   2. the doctrine that reality is unitary and unchanging and that change and diversity are mere illusion See also monism pluralism

3. Christianity an uncompromising form of the doctrine of predestination

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Other Word Forms

• absolutist noun
• absolutistic adjective
• absolutistically adverb
• nonabsolutist noun
• nonabsolutistic adjective
• nonabsolutistically adverb
• proabsolutism noun
• proabsolutist adjective

Etymology

Origin of absolutism

First recorded in 1745–55