authoritarian
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔːˌθɒɹ.ɪˈtɛə̯.ɹɪən/
ipa: /əˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/
ipa: /ɔˌθɔɹ.əˈtɛɹ.i.ən/
Forms: form: more authoritarian
form: most authoritarian
Etymology: From authority + -arian, circa 1880.
Senses: examples: text: the authoritarian personality
glosses: Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.
examples: text: The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws for low-wage peasants.
text: 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.
ref: 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:
text: […] (selling one’s personal activity under another’s direction and supervision encourages dependency and authoritarian relationships);[…]
ref: 1981 May 1, Samuel Edward Konkin III, “Reply to Rothbard”, in Strategy of the New Libertarian Alliance, number 1:
text: It may be that precisely due to its weak nature, an authoritarian dictatorship needs rampant violence and lies to maintain its rule.
ref: 2020 March 14, “What Did the Sudden Fall of the Berlin Wall Tell Us?”, in Minghui:
text: 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.
ref: 2022, “September 25, 2022”, in Mainland Affairs Council, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2023, Chronology:
text: Of course, in China everything is determined by the state. So many times, when I asked how China had managed to build this network so quickly, I was told that it was because the government had backed it. And, of course, there are fewer Nimbys in an authoritarian state.
ref: 2025 April 16, Christian Wolmar, “Hugely impressed by China's high-speed rail network”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 42:
text: But amid all the disruption and norm-breaking, it’s Mr. Trump’s apparently keen interest in shaping American culture that may be most intriguing. To critics, it’s nothing less than a sign of his authoritarian bent – reminiscent of the Stalin-esque playbook that made government diktats over artistic expression a feature of the old Soviet Union.
ref: 2025 April 17, Linda Feldmann, “How Donald Trump is upending American culture”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
glosses: Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.
glosses: Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.
Synonyms: sense: strictly obedient, supportive of obedience
word: bossy
sense: demanding strict obedience
word: bossy
sense: tending to impose one's demands
word: arrogant
sense: tending to impose one's demands
word: commanding
sense: tending to impose one's demands
word: haughty
sense: tending to impose one's demands
word: imperious
Derived terms: antiauthoritarian
anti-authoritarian
auth
authcom
authoritarian democracy
authoritarianism
authoritarianist
authoritarianity
authoritarianly
authoritarianness
authoritarian parent
authoritarian parenting
counter-authoritarian
counterauthoritarian
nonauthoritarian
post-authoritarian