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Noun: absolutism  'ab-su-loo,ti-zum or ,ab-su'loo,ti-zum
  1. Dominance through threat of punishment and violence
    - tyranny, despotism
     
  2. A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution, laws or opposition etc.)
    - dictatorship, authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalitarianism, tyranny
     
  3. An ideological belief in the complete and unrestricted power of government.
    - totalitarianism, totalism
     
  4. The doctrine of an absolute being, often related to idealism in philosophy.

Derived forms: absolutisms

Type of: ascendance, ascendancy, ascendence, ascendency, autarchy, autocracy, control, doctrine, dominance, ideology, ism, mythos, philosophical system, philosophy, political orientation, political theory, school of thought

Encyclopedia: Absolutism