Dictionary

authoritarianism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɔˌθɔːɹɪˈtɛːɹiən.ɪzm̩/ (General-American)

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.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) 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.
   • 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. 2025 February 25, Linda Feldmann, “How Trump skirts checks and balances unlike any modern-day US president”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2025:
   • 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. 2021, Stanley Feldman, Vittorio Mérola, and Justin Dollman, “THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AUTHORITARIANISM AND SUPPORT FOR ILLIBERAL POLICIES AND PARTIES”, in Vittorio Merola, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2024, page 635:
   • Near-synonyms: dictatorialism; autocratism; totalitarianism (see usage note there)
   • This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism. 2017 May 25, Mark Zuckerberg, “Mark Zuckerberg’s Commencement address at Harvard”, in The Harvard Gazette, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025:
   • If Trump defies the Court here, then America will have taken an important step toward authoritarianism and anti-constitutional government. 2025 April 10, Adam Serwer, “The Confrontation Between Trump and the Supreme Court Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2025:
   • 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. 1989 July 6 [1988 December], Dmitriy Volkogonov, anonymous quotee, “Triumph and Tragedy: A Portrait of I.V. Stalin”, in JPRS Report: Soviet Union, number 043, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Moscow, Oktyabr, No 12, translation of original in Russian, →OCLC, page 219, column 1:

Forms

Deriveds

ecoauthoritarianism · anti-authoritarianism · performative authoritarianism · competitive authoritarianism · neo-authoritarianism

Synonyms

dictatorialism · autocratism · totalitarianism

Translations (52)

ky авторитаризм (authoritarian form of government) · sv auktoritarism (authoritarian form of government) · vi chủ nghĩa chuyên chế (authoritarian form of government) · ka ავტორიტარიზმი (authoritarian form of government) · sl avtoritarizem (authoritarian form of government) · km អាជ្ញានិយម (authoritarian form of government) · nl autoritarisme (authoritarian form of government) · it autoritarismo (authoritarian form of government) · ms autoritarianisme (authoritarian form of government) · mr अधिकारशाही (authoritarian form of government) · hi सत्तावाद (authoritarian form of government) · tg авторитаризм (authoritarian form of government) · kk авторитаризм (authoritarian form of government) · uz avtoritarizm (authoritarian form of government) · de Autoritarismus (authoritarian form of government) · lt autoritarizmas (authoritarian form of government) · sh autoritarizam (authoritarian form of government) · he סַמְכוּתָנוּת (authoritarian form of government) · sq autoritarizëm (authoritarian form of government) · ko 권위주의 (authoritarian form of government) · sk autoritarizmus (authoritarian form of government) · ar سُلْطَوِيَّة (authoritarian form of government) · bg авторитари́зъм (authoritarian form of government) · gl autoritarismo (authoritarian form of government) · sh ауторитаризам (authoritarian form of government) · uk авторитари́зм (authoritarian form of government) · fi autoritarismi (authoritarian form of government) · id otoriterisme (authoritarian form of government) · mk авторитари́зам (authoritarian form of government) · fa اقتدارگرایی (authoritarian form of government) · tk awtoritarizm (authoritarian form of government) · lv autoritārisms (authoritarian form of government) · ca autoritarisme (authoritarian form of government) · pt autoritarismo (authoritarian form of government) · cs autoritářství (authoritarian form of government) · hy ավտորիտարիզմ (authoritarian form of government) · ja 権威主義 (authoritarian form of government) · yue 威權主義 /威权主义 (authoritarian form of government) · es autoritarismo (authoritarian form of government) · cmn 威權主義 /威权主义 (authoritarian form of government) · ru авторитари́зм (authoritarian form of government) · hu autoritarizmus (authoritarian form of government) · be аўтарытары́зм (authoritarian form of government) · pl autorytaryzm (authoritarian form of government) · az avtoritarizm (authoritarian form of government) · et autoritarism (authoritarian form of government) · fr autoritarisme (authoritarian form of government) · tr otoriteryanizm (authoritarian form of government) · id otoritarianisme (authoritarian form of government) · th ลัทธิอำนาจนิยม (authoritarian form of government) · tg иқтидоргароӣ (authoritarian form of government) · ro autoritarism (authoritarian form of government)