authoritarian
pronunciation
How to pronounce authoritarian in British English:
UK [ɔːˌθɒrɪˈteəriən]
How to pronounce authoritarian in American English:
US [əˌθɔːrəˈteriən]
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- Noun:
- a person behaves in an tyrannical manner
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- Adjective:
- characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty
- likened to a dictator in severity
- expecting unquestioning obedience
Word Origin
- authoritarian (adj.)
- 1862, "favoring imposed order over freedom," from authority + -an. Compare authoritative, which originally had this meaning to itself. Noun in the sense of one advocating or practicing such governance is from 1859.
Example
- 1. Although his authoritarian streak was well known , mr jobs was nevertheless good at attracting talent .
- 2. Monitoring the web : the iranian government makes monitoring web activity an important element of its authoritarian toolkit .
- 3. Under the authoritarian regime we had a more clear right because there was a more clear left , because of the cold war .
- 4. The invisible hand of the market is giving way to the visible , and often authoritarian , hand of state capitalism .
- 5. Indeed , if a respected journalist like ghaith abdul-ahad can be punished for reporting on concerns about a trend toward authoritarian government , the verdict would seem to lend credence to those very concerns .