Noun: totalitarianism tow,ta-li'teh-ree-u,ni-zum
- A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution, laws or opposition etc.)
"The country suffered under a brutal totalitarianism for decades";
- dictatorship, absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, tyranny
- An ideological belief in the complete and unrestricted power of government
"The regime's totalitarianism left no room for individual freedoms";
- absolutism, totalism
Derived forms: totalitarianisms
Type of: autarchy, autocracy, ideology, mythos, political orientation, political theory
Encyclopedia: Totalitarianism