adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛəɹiən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˌtoʊtəlɪˈtɛɹiən/
rhymes with -ɛəɹiən
CMU ARPABET:T OW2 T AE2 L IH0 T EH1 R IY0 AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of or relating to a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control of every aspect of the country, socially, financially, and politically.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The divine truth is stronger than totalitarian falsehoods.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An advocate of totalitarianism.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective
Meaning 3
of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
totalitarian theory and practice
operating in a totalistic fashion
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: totalistic
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control- Arthur M.Schlesinger, Jr.
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
an adherent of totalitarian principles or totalitarian government
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: disciple, adherent
History
Etymology
From Italian totalitario (“complete, absolute, totalitarian”) + -an. Equivalent to totality + -arian.
Across languages
Translations
59 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
totalitar
— related to the system of government
Arabic:
شُمُولِيّ
(šumūliyy)
— related to the system of government
Armenian:
ամբողջատիրական
(amboġǰatirakan)
— related to the system of government
Armenian:
տոտալիտար
(totalitar)
— related to the system of government
Azerbaijani:
totalitar
— related to the system of government
Belarusian:
таталіта́рны
(tatalitárny)
— related to the system of government
Bulgarian:
тоталита́рен
(totalitáren)
— related to the system of government
Catalan:
totalitari
— related to the system of government
Chinese Mandarin:
極權主義的 /极权主义的
(jíquánzhǔyì de)
— related to the system of government
Czech:
totalitní
— related to the system of government
Danish:
totalitær
— related to the system of government
Dutch:
totalitair
— related to the system of government
Dutch:
totalitaire
— related to the system of government
Esperanto:
totalisma
— related to the system of government
Estonian:
totalitaarne
— related to the system of government
Finnish:
totalitaarinen
— related to the system of government
French:
totalitaire
— related to the system of government
Friulian:
totalitari
— related to the system of government
Galician:
totalitario
— related to the system of government
Georgian:
ტოტალიტარული
(ṭoṭaliṭaruli)
— related to the system of government
German:
totalitär
— related to the system of government
Greek:
ολοκληρωτικός
(oloklirotikós)
— related to the system of government
Hebrew:
טוֹטָלִיטָרִי
(totalitári)
— related to the system of government
Hindi:
सर्वसत्तावादी
(sarvasattāvādī)
— related to the system of government
Hungarian:
totalitárius
— related to the system of government
Indonesian:
totaliter
— related to the system of government
Italian:
totalitario
— related to the system of government
Japanese:
全体主義的
(zentaishugiteki)
— related to the system of government
Kazakh:
тоталитарлық
(totalitarlyq)
— related to the system of government
Korean:
전체주의적
(jeonchejuuijeok)
— related to the system of government
Northern Kurdish:
totalîter
— related to the system of government
Kyrgyz:
тоталитардык
(totalitardık)
— related to the system of government
Latvian:
totalitārs
— related to the system of government
Latvian:
totalitārais
— related to the system of government
Lithuanian:
totalitarinis
— related to the system of government
Macedonian:
тоталита́рен
(totalitáren)
— related to the system of government
Malay:
totalitarian
— related to the system of government
Norwegian Bokmål:
totalitær
— related to the system of government
Norwegian Nynorsk:
totalitær
— related to the system of government
Persian:
توتالیتر
(totâliter)
— related to the system of government
Piedmontese:
totalitari
— related to the system of government
Polish:
totalitarny
— related to the system of government
Polish:
totalny
— related to the system of government
Portuguese:
totalitário
— related to the system of government
Romanian:
totalitar
— related to the system of government
Russian:
тоталита́рный
(totalitárnyj)
— related to the system of government
Serbo-Croatian:
тоталитарни
— related to the system of government
Serbo-Croatian:
totalitarni
— related to the system of government
Slovak:
totalitný
— related to the system of government
Slovene:
totalitarni
— related to the system of government
Spanish:
totalitario
— related to the system of government
Swedish:
totalitär
— related to the system of government
Tajik:
тоталитарӣ
(totalitari)
— related to the system of government
Thai:
เผด็จการ
(pà-dèt-gaan)
— related to the system of government
Turkish:
totaliter
— related to the system of government
Turkmen:
totalitar
— related to the system of government
Ukrainian:
тоталіта́рний
(totalitárnyj)
— related to the system of government
Uzbek:
totalitar
— related to the system of government
Uzbek:
totalitarlik
— related to the system of government
