totalitarianism - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

to·tal·i·tar·i·an·ism

Audio Help [toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh-niz-uh

m] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the practices and principles of a totalitarian regime.

2.	absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution.

3.	the character or quality of an autocratic or authoritarian individual, group, or government: the totalitarianism of the father.

[Origin: 1920–25; totalitarian + -ism

]

—Related forms

to·tal·i·tar·i·an·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
totalitarianism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

to·tal·i·tar·i·an Audio Help   (tō-tāl'ĭ-târ'ē-ən) Pronunciation Key
adj.   Of, relating to, being, or imposing a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural expression is suppressed: "A totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul" (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.)

n.   A practitioner or supporter of such a government.

[total + (author)itarian.]

to·tal'i·tar'i·an·ism n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

totalitarianism
noun
1.	a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
2.	the principle of complete and unrestricted power in government [syn: absolutism]

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
totalitarianism [(toh-tal-uh-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm)]

Domination by a government of all political, social, and economic activities in a nation. Totalitarianism is a phenomenon of the twentieth century: earlier forms of despotism and autocracy lacked the technical capacity to control every aspect of life. The term is applied both to fascist governments (see fascism) and to many forms of communism.

[Chapter:] World Politics

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