fascist

[fash-ist]

noun

1. a person who believes in or sympathizes with fascism.

2. (often initial capital letter),  a member of a fascist movement or party.

3. a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views.

adjective

1. Also fascistic of or like fascism or fascists.

fascist

¹

/ ˈfæʃɪst /

noun

1. an adherent or practitioner of fascism

2. any person regarded as having right-wing authoritarian views

adjective

1. characteristic of or relating to fascism

Fascist

²

/ ˈfæʃɪst /

noun

1. a supporter or member of the Italian Fascist movement

adjective

1. of or relating to Italian Fascism

Other Word Forms

• fascistically adverb
• antifascist noun
• nonfascist noun
• prefascist adjective
• profascist adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fascist¹

First recorded in 1915–20; from Italian fascista, equivalent to fasc(io) ( fascism ) + -ista -ist

Example Sentences

This is a fascist vision of natural selection favoring the group with racial and cultural superiority.

From Slate

A bunch of quisling Republicans kowtowing to their aging fascist leader may seem less scary in comparison.

From Salon

And in today’s GOP—which more closely resembles a fascist cult of personality than a party in a democracy—whatever the president wants, rank-and-file Republicans get for him.

From Slate

The goal of fascist leaders is to scare people into submission by seeming invulnerable and all-powerful.

From Salon

This much is clear: The president’s cruel, fascist theater isn’t a reaction or side effect.

From Salon

When To Use

What does fascist mean?

A fascist is someone who supports or promotes fascism—a system of government led by a dictator who typically rules by forcefully and often violently suppressing opposition and criticism, controlling all industry and commerce, and promoting nationalism and often racism.The words fascist and fascism are sometimes capitalized, especially when they specifically refer to the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in Italy from 1922 to 1943, or authoritarian systems similar to his, including those of Adolf Hitler in Germany and Francisco Franco in Spain.Fascism can also refer to an ideology based on this form of rule, or to the use of its methods. More broadly, fascism is used to refer to any ideology or movement seen as authoritarian, nationalistic, and extremely right wing, especially when fundamentally opposed to democracy and liberalism.The term fascist can be a noun referring generally to someone who has such views, or, more specifically, to a member of such a government or movement. Fascist can also be used as an adjective describing something involving or promoting fascism.Apart from their literal (and often capitalized) use to refer to the regime of Mussolini, the words fascism and fascist are typically used negatively as a criticism of such practices and ideologies—fascists typically avoid calling themselves fascists due to the negative history associated with the terms.That history includes the rise of fascism in the 1920s and ’30s, the Holocaust perpetrated by Hitler and the Nazis, and other atrocities and oppression committed under fascist regimes. Interest in the history of fascism and the word itself has increased in the 21st century, along with a global rise of nationalism and movements associated with fascism.