Totalitarianism (Noun)
Meaning 1
A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.).
Classification
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects.
Synonyms
- Authoritarianism
- Caesarism
- Shogunate
- Monocracy
- Despotism
- One-man Rule
- Absolutism
- Stalinism
- Dictatorship
- Tyranny
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Meaning 2
The principle of complete and unrestricted power in government.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The government's efforts to suppress free speech and control every aspect of citizens' lives were characteristic of totalitarianism.
- Critics of the regime argued that its concentration of power and lack of accountability were clear signs of totalitarianism.
- Totalitarianism often involves the creation of a cult of personality around the leader, who is revered as infallible and all-powerful.
- In a totalitarian system, individual rights and freedoms are typically subordinated to the needs of the state, with severe consequences for dissent.
- Historians have identified the Nazi regime in Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin as two of the most notorious examples of totalitarianism in the 20th century.