authoritarian en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (UK) audio
- /əˌθɑ.ɹəˈtɛɹ.i.ən/ (US, regional)
- /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/ (UK)
- /əˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/ (Canada, General-American)
- (New-Jersey) audio
- /ɔˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/ (Canada, General-American)
- (California) audio
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 From authority + -arian, circa 1880.
Meanings
-
Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.
the authoritarian personality
-
Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.
It may be that precisely due to its weak nature, an authoritarian dictatorship needs rampant violence and lies to maintain its rule.
2020 March 14, Shixin, “What Did the Sudden Fall of the Berlin Wall Tell Us?”, in Minghui, archived from the original on 01 Oct 2025:Of course, in China everything is determined by the state. So many times, when I asked how China had managed to build this network so quickly, I was told that it was because the government had backed it. And, of course, there are fewer Nimbys in an authoritarian state.
2025 April 16, Christian Wolmar, “Hugely impressed by China's high-speed rail network”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 42:[…] (selling one’s personal activity under another’s direction and supervision encourages dependency and authoritarian relationships);[…]
1981 May 1, Samuel Edward Konkin III, “Reply to Rothbard”, in Strategy of the New Libertarian Alliance, number 1:But amid all the disruption and norm-breaking, it’s Mr. Trump’s apparently keen interest in shaping American culture that may be most intriguing. To critics, it’s nothing less than a sign of his authoritarian bent – reminiscent of the Stalin-esque playbook that made government diktats over artistic expression a feature of the old Soviet Union.
2025 April 17, Linda Feldmann, “How Donald Trump is upending American culture”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2025:The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws for low-wage peasants.
Una rivoluzione è certamente la cosa più autoritaria che ci sia: è l'atto per il quale una parte della popolazione impone la sua volontà all'altra parte per mezzo di fucili, baionette e cannoni; mezzi autoritari, se ce ne sono; e il partito vittorioso, se non vuole aver combattuto invano, deve continuare questo dominio col terrore che le sue armi inspirano ai reazionari.
1873 December [1872], Friedrich Engels, “Dell'autorità”, in Almanacco repubblicano per l'anno 1874; translated into English as “On Authority”, in Marx/Engels Collected Works, volume 23, translation of original in Italian, 1988, page 425:Wang Yi blatantly intimidates the world at the UNGA. He is a cheat and bully on the global stage in fundamental violation of the facts. Democratic countries should clearly recognize and unify against the challenge of authoritarian intervention. The Republic of China is a sovereign state. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China in historical fact, international law, or reality.
2022, “September 25, 2022”, in Mainland Affairs Council, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2023, Chronology:
- Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most authoritarian | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more authoritarian | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
modest (antonym(s) of “tending to impose one's demands”) · liberal (antonym(s) of “characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority”) · servile (antonym(s) of “tending to impose one's demands”) · humble (antonym(s) of “tending to impose one's demands”) · democratic (antonym(s) of “characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority”)
Deriveds
counter-authoritarian · authoritarianity · post-authoritarian · antiauthoritarian · authoritarian democracy · counterauthoritarian · auth · authoritarianly · nonauthoritarian · authoritarianness · authoritarianism · authoritarianist · authcom · anti-authoritarian
Synonyms
commanding (tending to impose one's demands) · haughty (tending to impose one's demands) · imperious (tending to impose one's demands) · bossy (demanding strict obedience) · arrogant (tending to impose one's demands) · bossy (strictly obedient, supportive of obedience)
Translations (90)
id otoriter (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · el αυταρχικός (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · fi autoritaarinen (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · cs autoritářský (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ja 権威主義的な (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · es autoritario (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · fr autoritaire (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · ur آمِراَنہ (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · ca autoritari (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · nn autoritær (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · vi quyền uy (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · vi chuyên chế (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · ro autoritar (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · io autoritatema (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · cmn 專制的 /专制的 (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · gl autoritario (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · hy ավտորիտար (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · gl autoritario (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ja 横柄な (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · ja 強権的な (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · id otoriter (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · de autoritär (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · da autoritær (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · lv autoritārs (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · tr otoriter (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ka ავტორიტარული (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ja 高慢な (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · ar سُلْطَوِيّ (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · be аўтарыта́рны (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ar سُلْطَوِيّ (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ca autoritari (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · el αυταρχικός (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · fa اقتدارگرا (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · fr autoritaire (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · da autoritær (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · pt autoritário (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · el απολυταρχικός (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · nb autoritær (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · ar اِسْتِبْدَادِيّ (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · hu autoriter (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · et autoritaarne (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · sh ȁutoritāran (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · sk autoritársky (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · cmn 高傲 (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · yi אויטאָריטאַריש (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · ja 傲慢な (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · da autoritær (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · nl autoritair (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · pt mandão (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · ru авторита́рный (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · hu tekintélyelvű (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · mi whakatopatopa (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · uk авторита́рний (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · pl autorytarny (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · nb autoritær (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · sq autoritar (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · az avtoritar (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · id otoriter (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · fi autoritaarinen (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · es autoritario (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · pl autorytarny (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · uz avtoritar (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · sh а̏уторита̄ран (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · uk авторита́рний (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · de autoritär (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · nn autoritær (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · cmn 專橫 /专横 (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · sl avtoritaren (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · bg авторита́рен (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · nb autoritær (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ja 権柄ずくの (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · mk авторита́рен (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · cmn 獨裁的 /独裁的 (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · pt autoritário (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · pl autorytatywny (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ja 権威主義的な (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · pt autoritário (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · sv auktoritär (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · fi komenteleva (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · sv auktoritär (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ca autoritari (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · mfe otoriter (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · lt autoritarinis (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · io autoritatema (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · ru авторита́рный (tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority) · gl autoritario (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · ru авторита́рный (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · nn autoritær (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority) · fi autoritaarinen (demanding obedience to authority; dictatorial) · fr autoritaire (of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority)