police state
Meanings
noun
- A polity whose government exercises strict and repressive control of the people.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Likely a calque of German Polizeistaat adopted following the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 and the ensuing Demagogenverfolgungen, culminating in the crackdown of liberal and anarchical movements popular in the 1840s during the German revolutions of 1848–1849. Equivalent to police + state.
Related words
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