totalitarian

CEFRC1

/ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Controlling every part of people's lives through a strict government.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    An advocate of totalitarianism.

Examples

  • Parents must be totalitarian dictators for part of their child's life.

  • The divine truth is stronger than totalitarian falsehoods.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˌtoʊtəlɪˈtɛɹiən/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Of or relating to a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control of every aspect of the country, socially, financially, and politically.

More examples

In context

  • Parents are totalitarian dictators.

  • Well, last night these two bouncers / And one of 'em's alright, the other one's the scary one / His way or no way, totalitarian

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In a blank state, the government controls all aspects of life and forbids opposition.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Italian totalitario (“complete, absolute, totalitarian”) + -an. Equivalent to totality + -arian.