Totalitarianism Meaning
/tˌoʊˌtæləˈtɛriəˌnɪzəm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA system of government in which the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control, for example, a dictatorship.
Sentence Examples
Totalitarianism is when people are mean to me.
The New World Order is an atheist new communist totalitarianism.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The citizens rebelled against the oppressive ____ that silenced all free speech.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor gave a lecture about the history of ____ and how it has affected many countries in the past today.
Word Origin & History
1938, from totalitarian + -ism, modeled after Italian totalitarismo (1923, by Giovanni Amendola) and German terms such as Totalstaat (1927, The Concept of the Political, by Carl Schmitt).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And if it is true that in the final stages of totalitarianism an absolute evil appears (absolute because it can no longer be deduced from humanly comprehensible motives), it is also true that without it we might never have known the truly radical nature of Evil."
— 1951, Hannah Arendt, “Preface to the First Edition”, in The Origins of Totalitarianism (A Harvest/HBJ Book), new edition, San Diego, Calif.; New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1973, →ISBN, pages viii–ix:
"The film Repentance caused a sensation across the Soviet Union not only because it publicly condemned the evil of totalitarianism but also because it encouraged tens of thousands of Soviet people to reflect upon the source and root cause of the evil.[…]"
— 2020 October 31, Yiqing, “Why Is the Chinese Communist Party So Afraid of Intellectuals?”, in Minghui:
"Mr. Yudin argues that Russia is moving out of authoritarianism – where political passivity and civic disengagement are key features – into totalitarianism, which relies on mass mobilization, terror and homogeneity of beliefs."
— 2022 April 9, Sabrina Tavernise, “[Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine shatters an illusion in Russia”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The citizens rebelled against the oppressive ____ that silenced all free speech.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor gave a lecture about the history of ____ and how it has affected many countries in the past today.