Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Absolutism \Ab"so*lu`tism\, n.
   1. The state of being absolute; the system or doctrine of the
      absolute; the principles or practice of absolute or
      arbitrary government; despotism.

            The element of absolutism and prelacy was
            controlling.                          --Palfrey.

   2. (Theol.) Doctrine of absolute decrees. --Ash.

Source : WordNet®

absolutism
     n 1: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {tyranny},
           {despotism}]
     2: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute
        dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or
        opposition etc.) [syn: {dictatorship}, {authoritarianism},
         {Caesarism}, {despotism}, {monocracy}, {one-man rule}, {shogunate},
         {Stalinism}, {totalitarianism}, {tyranny}]
     3: the principle of complete and unrestricted power in
        government [syn: {totalitarianism}, {totalism}]
     4: the doctrine of an absolute being