# authoritarian
## English
### Etymology

Circa 1880 authority +‎ -arian

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/
** Audio (UK):(file)
* (General American) IPA: /əˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/, /ɔˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/
** Audio (US):(file)
** Audio (New Jersey):(file)

### Adjective

authoritarian (comparative more authoritarian, superlative most authoritarian)
* Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.
    the authoritarian personality
* Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.
    The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws for low-wage peasants.
** 1873 December [1872], Friedrich Engels, “Dell'autorità”, in Almanacco repubblicano per l'anno 1874; translated into English as “On Authority”, in Marx/Engels Collected Works, volume 23, translation of original in Italian, 1988, page 425:A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is; it is the act whereby one part of the population imposes its will upon the other part by means of rifles, bayonets and cannon — authoritarian means, if such there be at all; and if the victorious party does not want to have fought in vain, it must maintain this rule by means of the terror which its arms inspire in the reactionaries.[original: Una rivoluzione è certamente la cosa più autoritaria che ci sia: è l'atto per il quale una parte della popolazione impone la sua volontà all'altra parte per mezzo di fucili, baionette e cannoni; mezzi autoritari, se ce ne sono; e il partito vittorioso, se non vuole aver combattuto invano, deve continuare questo dominio col terrore che le sue armi inspirano ai reazionari.]
** 2020 March 14, “What Did the Sudden Fall of the Berlin Wall Tell Us?”, in Minghui‎:It may be that precisely due to its weak nature, an authoritarian dictatorship needs rampant violence and lies to maintain its rule.
** 2022, “September 25, 2022”, in Mainland Affairs Council‎, archived from the original on 04 March 2023, Chronology:Wang Yi blatantly intimidates the world at the UNGA. He is a cheat and bully on the global stage in fundamental violation of the facts. Democratic countries should clearly recognize and unify against the challenge of authoritarian intervention. The Republic of China is a sovereign state. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China in historical fact, international law, or reality.
* Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.

#### Synonyms

* (strictly obedient, supportive of obedience): See Thesaurus:bossy
* (demanding strict obedience): See Thesaurus:bossy
* (tending to impose one's demands): arrogant, commanding, haughty, imperious
* See also Thesaurus:bossy

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority”): democratic, liberal
* (antonym(s) of “tending to impose one's demands”): servile, humble, modest

#### Derived terms

* antiauthoritarian
* anti-authoritarian
* authoritarian democracy
* authoritarianism
* authoritarianist
* authoritarianity
* authoritarianly
* authoritarianness
* counterauthoritarian
* counter-authoritarian
* nonauthoritarian
* post-authoritarian

#### Translations
### Noun

authoritarian (plural authoritarians)
* One who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority.
    The dictator was an authoritarian.
** 2020 April 14, Quinta Jurecic, Benjamin Wittes, “Being an Actual Authoritarian Is Too Much Work for Trump”, in The Atlantic‎:Trump may be a Schmittian by instinct and aspiration, but he’s a fair-weather Schmittian only. A true authoritarian, confronted by limits on his power, might have ripped through them in service of establishing his authority.
* One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### References

* “authoritarian”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* “authoritarian”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.