Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Relating to a system of government: Describes a political system where the state holds total authority over society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life. This control is typically maintained by a single party or leader, using ideology, propaganda, and often coercion.
   • Characterized by absolute control: Describes something that is centralized, dictatorial, and demands complete subservience to the state, suppressing individual freedom and opposition.

2. Noun:

   • A supporter of such a system: A person who advocates for or supports totalitarian principles or government.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The historian analyzed the totalitarian methods used to suppress dissent.
  • They lived under a totalitarian regime that controlled the media and education system.
  • The novel depicts a dystopian, totalitarian future.

• Noun:

  • He was denounced as a totalitarian for his extreme views on state control.
  • The party was founded by totalitarians who rejected democratic processes.

Advanced Usage

• Totalitarian state: A country governed by a totalitarian system.
  • Scholars debate whether the country evolved into a full totalitarian state.
• Totalitarian tendencies: Actions or policies that show a movement toward absolute control.
  • The new laws exhibited worrying totalitarian tendencies.

Variants and Related Words

• Totalitarianism (n): The political system or ideology itself.
  • Totalitarianism is often contrasted with authoritarianism, as it seeks to control thoughts, not just actions.
• Totalistic (adj): Functioning in a comprehensive, all-encompassing manner (a more general term sometimes used in similar contexts).

Synonyms

• Adjective: Authoritarian, dictatorial, autocratic, despotic, tyrannical, oppressive.
• Noun: Autocrat, dictator, despot.

Antonyms

• Adjective: Democratic, liberal, libertarian, pluralistic, free.
• Noun: Democrat, libertarian.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Cult of personality: A feature of many totalitarian systems where the leader is glorified and portrayed as infallible.
• Police state: A state where the government uses police power, especially secret police, to maintain rigid control, often associated with totalitarianism.
• State ideology: The official doctrine that a totalitarian government uses to justify its control and shape society.

Adjective

1. of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life
   • totalitarian theory and practice
   • operating in a totalistic fashion
2. characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control
   • a totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul- Arthur M.Schlesinger, Jr.

Noun

1. an adherent of totalitarian principles or totalitarian government