Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom: authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
- of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
- exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others: an authoritarian parent.
noun
- a person who favors or acts according to authoritarian principles.
adjective
- favouring, denoting, or characterized by strict obedience to authority
- favouring, denoting, or relating to government by a small elite with wide powers
- despotic; dictatorial; domineering
noun
- a person who favours or practises authoritarian policies
1862, “favoring imposed order over freedom,” from authority + -an. Cf. authoritative, which originally had this meaning to itself. Noun in the sense of one advocating or practicing such governance is from 1859.