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
Otherwise, publics across Latin America will continue to surrender their constitutional rights in exchange for authoritarian police states that maintain order.
—
Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
Civil liberties activists fear that the Games will transform their city into something resembling a police state.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for police state 
Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
Civil liberties activists fear that the Games will transform their city into something resembling a police state.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for police state
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.
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“Police state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police%20state. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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