police state

noun

: a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures

Examples of police state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The inexorable march toward a police state, expedited by income and wealth inequality, has begun in America as well as elsewhere. Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Three people were killed and two more injured in three wrecks on Arkansas roads late last week, preliminary reports from local police state. Grant Lancaster, arkansasonline.com, 17 Jan. 2024 But that achievement, critics say, has come at an incalculable price: mass arrests that swept up thousands of innocent people, the erosion of civil liberties and the country’s descent into an increasingly autocratic police state. Natalie Kitroeff Daniele Volpe, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023 That state now places its trust in the force of arms, and so must resort to the vocabulary of a police state, as in South Africa or Algeria. Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 The two-minute trailer mostly focuses in on painting the film’s universe through a series of action sequences that visualizes the brutality of London’s police state. Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2023 While Republican lawmakers described the marker as an ode to reconciliation, it was installed in what was then a racially segregated cemetery and molded in celebration of an emerging racial police state in the South. Alex Horton, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023 That’s how Kevin winds up stuck in the grimly authoritarian police state where most of the film takes place, a godless slum city patrolled by heavily armed stormtroopers in opaque white visors — a neat design touch that gives the movie a menacing dystopian edge. Peter Debruge, Variety, 2 Dec. 2023 The life of an artist in a police state is very tricky — always has been. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'police state.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of police state was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near police state

Cite this Entry

“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

police state

noun
: a state in which the activities of the people are under the power of the government often acting through a secret police force
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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