authoritarian

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Circa 1880 authority +‎ -arian

Pronunciation

• enPR: ô-thŏr'ĭ-târ'ē-ən

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

authoritarian (comparative more authoritarian, superlative most authoritarian)

1. Of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority.
2. Characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority; dictatorial.

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

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

Synonyms

• (tending to impose one's demands): commanding, imperious
• See also Wikisaurus:bossy

Derived terms

• authoritarianism
• antiauthoritarian

Translations

of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority

• Finnish: autoritaarinen (fi)
• French: autoritaire (fr)
• German: autoritär (de)
• Greek: αυταρχικός (el) (aftarchikós) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: autoritær (nb)

  Nynorsk: autoritær (nn)

• Portuguese: autoritário (pt)
• Russian: авторитарный (ru) (avtoritárnyj)
• Spanish: autoritario (es)
• Swedish: auktoritär (sv)

characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority; dictatorial

• Czech: autoritářský (cs) m
• Finnish: autoritaarinen (fi)
• German: autoritär (de)
• Greek: απολυταρχικός (el) (apolytarchikós) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: autoritær (nb)

  Nynorsk: autoritær (nn)

• Romanian: autoritar (ro) m and n
• Russian: авторитарный (ru) (avtoritárnyj)
• Spanish: autoritario (es)

tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one was an authority

• Greek: αυταρχικός (el) (aftarchikós) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: autoritær (nb)

  Nynorsk: autoritær (nn)

• Russian: авторитарный (ru) (avtoritárnyj)

Noun

authoritarian (plural authoritarians)

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

   The dictator was an authoritarian.

2. One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.
   • 2006, Robert Altemeyer, The Authoritarians

Translations

one who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority

• Greek: απολυταρχικός (el) (apolytarchikós) m

one who follows authority

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: autoritaire