Wordfinder

Authoritarian definition

ə-thôrĭ-târē-ən, ə-thŏr-, ô-
authoritarians
See word origin
Frequency:
Believing in, relating to, characterized by, or enforcing unquestioning obedience to authority, as that of a dictator, rather than individual freedom of judgment and action.
adjective
15
7
Tending to tell other people what to do in a peremptory or arrogant manner.
adjective
11
3
A person who advocates, practices, or enforces such obedience.
noun
11
4
The definition of an authoritarian is a person who expects everyone to do what he says to do.

A dictator is an example of an authoritarian.

noun
3
1
Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom.

An authoritarian regime.

adjective
4
3
Advertisement
Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one was an authority.
adjective
1
0
Of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority.
adjective
0
0
Characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority; dictatorial.

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

adjective
0
0
One who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority.

The dictator was an authoritarian.

noun
0
0
One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.
noun
0
0
Advertisement
Authoritarian is defined as something or someone who has complete or almost complete control over one or more people.

A government who is more concerned with having people obey laws than in people having some freedom is an example of an authoritarian government.

adjective
0
1

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
authoritarian
Plural:
authoritarians

Origin of authoritarian

  • Circa 1880 authority +‎ -arian

    From Wiktionary

Authoritarian Sentence Examples

  • Authoritarian parents are strict disciplinarians, often relying on physical punishment and the withdrawal of affection to shape their child's behavior.

  • I'm not authoritarian by nature but I knew there was a desperate need for leadership of our group.

  • However, the process can give you some clues about your parenting style; the three most common types of parenting include authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive.

  • In its place an increasingly authoritarian bureaucracy was gaining strength.

More sentences

Related articles

Also Mentioned In

Words near authoritarian in the Dictionary