authoritarianism
/ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.00 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
8
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial system.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: dictatorialism; autocratism; totalitarianism (see usage note there)"
- "But Stalin could not weaken faith and conviction in social justice. Many of the people whose consciousness was not totally sullied with the litter of cult trash maintained an acute dislike of the authoritarianism that was instilled deep within them. At the same time they could not find suitable way out of their voiceless dissatisfaction."
- "This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism."
- "Working from a psycho-dynamic perspective, Fromm explained authoritarianism as a response to the breakdown of traditional social structures brought about by industrialization and modernization."
- "Instead of three co-equal branches acting as a check on each other, power has become increasingly concentrated over the years in the White House – a trend that is now being supercharged under Mr. Trump in ways that, to critics, raise the specter of authoritarianism."
- "If Trump defies the Court here, then America will have taken an important step toward authoritarianism and anti-constitutional government."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti Proto-Italic *augejō Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authority Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. Middle English -arie English -ary Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English -arian English authoritarian Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English authoritarianism From authoritarian + -ism.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/