totalitarian
Americanadjective
-
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
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- antitotalitarian adjective
- nontotalitarian adjective
- totalitarianism noun
Etymology
Origin of totalitarian
First recorded in 1925–30; totalit(y) + -arian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a totalitarian sci-fi world, a hammer thrown by a young athlete smashes a "Big Brother" figure declaiming to brainwashed citizens from a vast screen.
From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026
Mass manufacturing backstopped American primacy in the 20th century; the U.S. outbuilt and outinnovated its totalitarian foes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
“A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy,” Orwell wrote in his diary while he was working on the book.
From Salon • Oct. 10, 2025
What’s amazing about “Brazil,” even after 40 years, is how prophetic it was about the manipulation of public mores and knowledge by a totalitarian regime.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025
But what they didn’t say was that prison was also a microcosm of a totalitarian society, a nearly pure example of the police state.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
