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police state

A country governed by a government that exercises rigorous or oppressive control over the social behavior of its citizens through the use of police forces and surveillance.
Noun
pl: police states

This term carries a heavy negative connotation, specifically associating government authority with tyranny, fear, and the systemic violation of civil liberties. It describes a political environment where the boundary between law enforcement and political repression is erased, often characterized by secret police, mass surveillance, and the suspension of due process.

In political discourse, it is used as a warning or a critique of increasing state surveillance. While it describes a physical government structure, it is frequently used rhetorically to describe any trend toward authoritarianism, regardless of whether a formal police state has been fully established.

Meanings

Noun

A country governed by a government that exercises rigorous or oppressive control over the social behavior of its citizens through the use of police forces and surveillance.

The citizens lived in fear under the oppressive regime of a police state.

Examples

The regime transformed the country into a police state within a few years.

History

I cannot believe we are living in a police state where every phone call is monitored.

The city felt like a police state with armed guards on every street corner.

Detective

They warned that the new security laws would turn the nation into a police state.

It is impossible to organize a protest in a police state.

The novel depicts a dystopian police state where thought crimes are punished by death.

Fantasy

We must resist these measures before we wake up in a police state.

The historian described the era as a classic example of a police state.

History

Who would want to live in a police state where privacy no longer exists?

Related Words

autocracydictatorshipdemocracyauthoritarianismsurveillanceoppressioncensorshiptyrannydespotismrepressionpropagandasecret policemartial lawcurfewarrestdetentioninterrogationtorturepersecutionespionageinformantspymonitoringwiretappingfacial recognitioncontrolcoercionintimidationfearcomplianceobedienceregimeautocratdictatorfascismcommunismtotalitarianismstate securityparamilitarygendarmerielaw enforcementcivil libertieshuman rightshabeas corpusdue processconstitutionrule of lawpolitical prisonergulagconcentration campexilepurgecoup d'etatsurveillance statepanopticonindoctrinationbrainwashingdissentresistancerebellioninsurgencydissidentactivistsovereigntygovernancelegislationdecreeedictmandaterestrictionbanprohibitionquotarationingbiometricsintercept
Last Updated: May 2026Report an Error