Very similar to what you posted from the dictionary. Significant government control and overreach into our daily lives. Think 1984, or North Korea. I don’t think social pressure is linked to the government. Or what a private employer does in response to beliefs about what the government says they’ll do at a later date. When legislation controls our lives to a significant degree, that would fit my definition.
I know a little about North Korea, and about the peoples history that led up to it. There was a long history of brutal feudalism. Aside from opposing elites wrestling for power, it was totalitarian. There was also a great deal of corruption, nepotism, and influence pedaling over hundreds (if not thousands) of years. One attempt at correcting the problem and improving the life of the people lead to a revolution, and the Chosun Dynasty. Eventually (hundreds of years; generations), corruption and infighting lead to domination by Japan. (Japan started with trade, then influenced markets, then disrupted currency, while at the same time buying political influence; all leading to eventual domination by force). Many embraced communism as the answer, as the savior, for the people. Now they have North Korea.
It's helpful to remember that we, the USA, aren't even 300 years down the road yet. It can be very instructive and benificial to look at places with a longer timeline, and see if there are lessons to be found.
1984 is a true classic tale.