The state of being absolute; the system or doctrine of the absolute; the principles or practice of absolute or arbitrary government; despotism. [1913 Webster]
"The element of absolutism and prelacy was controlling." [1913 Webster]
Doctrine of absolute decrees. Ash. [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

absolutism, n. the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical or theological matters.

Derivative

absolutist n. & adj.

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THESAURUS

absolutism

Caesarism, Stalinism, absolute monarchy, absolute power, autarchy, authoritarianism, authority, autocracy, benevolent despotism, bond service, bondage, captivity, competence, competency, constituted authority, control, czarism, debt slavery, delegated authority, deprivation of freedom, despotism, dictatorship, disenfranchisement, disfranchisement, divine right, domination, enslavement, enthrallment, faculty, feudalism, feudality, helotism, helotry, indentureship, indirect authority, inherent authority, jus divinum, kaiserism, lawful authority, legal authority, legitimacy, monarchy, one-man rule, one-party rule, paternalism, peonage, power, prerogative, regality, restraint, right, rightful authority, royal prerogative, serfdom, serfhood, servility, servitude, slavery, subjection, subjugation, the say, the say-so, thrall, thralldom, totalitarianism, tyranny, vassalage, vested authority, vicarious authority, villenage

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ROGET THESAURUS

absolutism

Authority

N authority, influence, patronage, power, preponderance, credit, prestige, prerogative, jurisdiction, right, direction, government, divine right, dynastic rights, authoritativeness, absoluteness, absolutism, despotism, jus nocendi, jus divinum, mastery, mastership, masterdom, dictation, control, hold, grasp, grip, gripe, reach, iron sway, fangs, clutches, talons, rod of empire, commission, deputy, permission, at the head, dominant, paramount, supreme, predominant, preponderant, in the ascendant, influential, arbitrary, compulsory, stringent, at one's command, in one's power, in one's grasp, under control, in the name of, by the authority of, de par le Roi, in virtue of, under the auspices of, in the hands of, at one's pleasure, by a dash if the pen, by a stroke of the pen, ex mero motu, ex cathedra, from the chair, the gray mare the better horse, every inch a king.

Severity

N severity, strictness, harshness, rigor, stringency, austerity, inclemency, arrogance, precisianism, arbitrary power, absolutism, despotism, dictatorship, autocracy, tyranny, domineering, oppression, assumption, usurpation, inquisition, reign of terror, martial law, iron heel, iron rule, iron hand, iron sway, tight grasp, brute force, brute strength, coercion, strong hand, tight hand, hard lines, hard measure, tender mercies, sharp practice, pipe-clay, officialism, tyrant, disciplinarian, precisian, martinet, stickler, bashaw, despot, hard master, Draco, oppressor, inquisitor, extortioner, harpy, vulture, accipitres, birds of prey, raptorials, raptors, severe, strict, hard, harsh, dour, rigid, stiff, stern, rigorous, uncompromising, exacting, exigent, exigeant, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, austere, hard-headed, hard-nosed, hard-shell, relentless, Spartan, Draconian, stringent, strait-laced, searching, unsparing, iron-handed, peremptory, absolute, positive, arbitrary, imperative, coercive, tyrannical, extortionate, grinding, withering, oppressive, inquisitorial, inclement, cruel, haughty, arrogant, precisian, severely, with a high hand, with a strong hand, with a tight hand, with a heavy hand, at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet, Delirant reges plectuntur Achivi, manu forti, ogni debole ha sempre il suo tiranno.

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