to ‧ tal ‧ i ‧ tar ‧ i ‧ an /təʊˌtæləˈteəriən, təʊˌtælɪˈteəriən $ toʊˌtæləˈter-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: total + -itarian (as in authoritarian ) ]
based on a political system in which ordinary people have no power and are completely controlled by the government
a totalitarian state/regime
—totalitarianism noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
■ an undemocratic government
▪ dictatorship [uncountable and countable] a political system or country that has a ↑ dictator (=a leader who has complete power and who has not been elected) :
Argentina was a military dictatorship until 1983.
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Hungary’s years of dictatorship
▪ totalitarian adjective [only before noun] used for describing countries in which ordinary people have no power and the government has complete control over everything:
totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany
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a totalitarian dictatorship
▪ police state [countable] a country where the government strictly controls people’s freedom, for example to travel or to talk about politics:
It’s like living in a police state.