Skip to main content
totalistic

totalistic

9.9
A government or group that controls all parts of people's lives
  • adjective
  • /ˌtoʊtəlˈɪstɪk/
  • Formal
translation icon : totalitario
  • In a totalistic society, freedom of expression is typically restricted.

Examples

  • It is only by slighting these matters that Giroux can reject the status quo in the absolute, totalistic terms of Postmodern Theory.

    Academic text (2001)
  • This is most notable in reformist NGOs, most of which are configured as acephalous/polycephalous networks organized around limited (as opposed to totalistic) ideologies.

    Blog text (26)
  • This totalistic view of the alliance is now being questioned.

    Academic text (2001)
  • In other words, the Turkish approach to the alliance was both totalistic and idealistic.

    Academic text (2001)
  • In what follows, we shall consider a class of the social utility function that exhibits strategic complementarity, which is totalistic and constant 19.

    Academic text (2018)
  • The other was to aim at "totalistic" diplomacy at the nonofficial level, encompassing all of the diverse spheres of foreign relations: cultural, economic, technical, and so forth.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Indeed, from the very first passage of his The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith was at great pains to demonstrate that Hobbes and Mandeville were misguided in their totalistic accounts of human motivation:

    Academic text (2001)
  • This example fits in a larger pattern: The establishment denies that Islamism—a form of Islam that seeks to make Muslims dominant through an extreme, totalistic, and rigid application of Islamic law, the Shari'a—represents the leading global cause of terrorism when it so clearly does.

    Academic text (2013)
  • A totalistic regime often seeks to control every aspect of its citizens' lives.

  • The totalistic approach of the government left little room for individual thought.

Synonyms

totalitarian
vstotalistic
  • Formal
47 8.9

Relating to a government that controls all parts of public and private life

is about the idea or principles behind such full state control
oppressive
vstotalistic
43 6.3

Using harsh, unfair power to control people and limit their freedom

focuses on total control of every aspect of life rather than only harshness
tyrannical
vstotalistic
25 7.9

Using power to treat people cruelly and unfairly

centers on total state control of life rather than individual cruelty
dictatorial
vstotalistic
16 7.7

Having complete control and expecting people to obey without question

focuses more on systemwide control over daily life than on obedience alone
autocratic
vstotalistic
14 8.0

A leader who has complete power and does not allow others to disagree

stresses control of all personal and public life instead of mere dominance
despotic
vstotalistic
8 8.4

A ruler who uses cruel and total power over people

is broader and focuses on systematic state control of all life
absolutistic
vstotalistic
9.9

Supporting total power for one person or group without limits

focuses on the general set of principles seeking total state control
monocratic
vstotalistic
  • Formal
9.9

A government led by one person with all the power

applies more to a system where the state aims to control every aspect
despotical
vstotalistic
  • Archaic
9.9

A leader who has harsh, total power and treats people unfairly

is about state principles aiming to control every part of life
centralistic
vstotalistic
9.3

Wanting control to be in one central government rather than local governments

is about full state control of both public and private life
tyrannic
vstotalistic
  • Formal
9.1

Having very strong, unfair power that controls or hurts people

focuses on cruel absolute rule while the key stresses comprehensive state control

Antonyms

983 4.4

Having political views that support social change and people's freedoms

How Controlling

totalistic
  • Formal
9.9
authoritarian
58 7.5
restrictive
52 4.7
permissive
  • Jargon
14 4.9

Surface Forms

totalistic positive

Morphology

totalistic = total (semi-transparent) = total + istic

While 'total' is clear, the suffix '-istic' implies a philosophical or ideological extension, which may not be immediately obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Totalistic comes from the common word total, which means 'whole', and is related to totalitarian, a word about 'total control' by the state. So totalistic describes a system or group that tries to control every part of people's lives.