Words We Keep Hearing In The News ...

probably a good idea to pay attention. 

aristocracy

[ar-uh-stok-ruh-see]

noun,

1. a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility.

2. a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class.

3. government by those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.

4. a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.

5. any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.

authoritarian

[uh-thawr-i-tair-ee-uh n]

adjective

1. favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom:

authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.

2. of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.

3. exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others. 

democracy

[dih-mok-ruh-see]

noun,

1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

2. a state having such a form of government:

3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.

4. political or social equality.

5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

dictatorship

[dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-]

noun,

1. a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.   

2. absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.

3. the office or position held by a dictator. 

fascism

[fash-iz-uh m]

noun,

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.

3. (initial capital letter) a political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43. 

oligarchy

[ol-i-gahr-kee]

noun,

1. a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.

2. a state or organization so ruled.

3. the persons or class so ruling. 

totalitarian

[toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh n]

adjective,

1. of or relating to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life.

2.exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of others; authoritarian; autocratic.

noun,

3. an adherent of totalitarianism

xenophobia

[zen-uh-foh-bee-uh, zee-nuh-]

noun

1. fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.

Xenophobia and nationalism can be seen as a reaction to the rise of globalization.

2. fear or dislike of the customs, dress, etc., of people who are culturally different from oneself.

 

Thanks for the definitions, Dictionary.com