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totalitario

totalitarian

adjective toh-tah-lee-TAH-ryoh Rare

Origin: From totale + -ario, modelled on Italian political vocabulary of the 1920s.

Usage Note

Totalitario describes a political system in which the state exercises absolute control over public and private life. The word was coined in Italian (totalitarismo, stato totalitario) and entered other European languages from Italian. The related noun is totalitarismo.

Examples

"Il regime totalitario controllava ogni aspetto della vita."

Natural Translation

The totalitarian regime controlled every aspect of life.

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