authoritarian

comparative more authoritarian · superlative most authoritarian

1. Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.

   the authoritarian personality

2. Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.

   The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws for low-wage peasants.

   5 more examples

   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.

   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

   […] (selling one’s personal activity under another’s direction and supervision encourages dependency and authoritarian relationships);[…]

   1981 May 1, Samuel Edward Konkin III, “Reply to Rothbard”, in Strategy of the New Libertarian Alliance, number 1

   It may be that precisely due to its weak nature, an authoritarian dictatorship needs rampant violence and lies to maintain its rule.

   2020 March 14, Shixin, “What Did the Sudden Fall of the Berlin Wall Tell Us?”, in Minghui, archived from the original on 01 Oct 2025

   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.

   2022, “September 25, 2022”, in Mainland Affairs Council, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2023, Chronology

   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.

   2025 April 16, Christian Wolmar, “Hugely impressed by China's high-speed rail network”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 42

   Synonyms: bossy, bossy

3. Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.

   Synonyms: arrogant, commanding, haughty, imperious

plural authoritarians

1. One who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority.

   The dictator was an authoritarian.

   2 more examples

   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.

   2020 April 14, Quinta Jurecic, Benjamin Wittes, “Being an Actual Authoritarian Is Too Much Work for Trump”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2020

   While his two predecessors had been authoritarians – they knew what they thought on the most contentious matters within Catholicism and imposed that view on the church regardless of dissenters – Francis preferred to work away patiently at building consensus and accommodating a variety of perspectives. To that end, he breathed new life into the system of regular gatherings – or synods – of bishops in Rome to debate pressing matters.

   2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2025

2. One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.