totalitarian regime
/ˌtoʊ.təlɪˈtɛr.i.ən rɪˈʒiːm/ · to·tal·i·ta·ri·an re·gime
noun
- A government or political system in which the state holds total authority over society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life. Under the totalitarian regime, citizens were required to carry identification cards and could be arrested for merely expressing dissenting opinions.
Synonyms
authoritarian statedictatorshipdespotic governmentautocratic regimeoppressive regimerepressive stateone‑party stateabsolute monarchy
Antonyms
Did you know? The term 'totalitarian' was popularized by political scientist Carl Friedrich in the 1950s to contrast regimes that aimed for total societal control with those that were merely authoritarian.