Nazi

[naht-see, nat-]

noun

plural

Nazis 

1. a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion, antisemitism, and Aryan supremacy, all these leading directly to World War II and the Holocaust.

2. (often lowercase),  a person elsewhere who holds similar views.

3. (often lowercase),  a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc..

   a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music;

   health nazis trying to ban junk food.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nazis.

Nazi

/ ˈnɑːtsɪ, ˈnɑːtsɪˌɪzəm, ˈnɑːtˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a member of the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party, which was founded in 1919 and seized political control in Germany in 1933 under Adolf Hitler

2. derogatory,  anyone who thinks or acts like a Nazi, esp showing racism, brutality, etc

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Nazis

Sensitive Note

Nazi in the extended sense of “a fanatical or domineering person” has existed at least since 1980 and parallels the use of the word police in the language police/the grammar police . Though this usage of Nazi is usually intended as jocular, it implies being intolerant of other people’s views and practices. And many people consider any extended use of the word Nazi to be offensive, in that it trivializes the terrible crimes of the German Nazis.

Other Word Forms

• Nazism noun
• anti-Nazi adjective
• pro-Nazi adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nazi¹

First recorded in 1930–35; from German Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist “National Socialist”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nazi¹

C20: from German, phonetic spelling of the first two syllables of Nationalsozialist National Socialist

Example Sentences

The painting first spotted online, Portrait of a Lady, was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis after his death.

From BBC

While Gray’s former attorney was explaining the ins and outs of his case to me, he mentioned that at some point, someone had drawn the Nazi hate symbol on the cover of Gray’s case file.

From Salon

David wrote from the perspective of a “vocal critic” of the Nazi dictator who, over dinner, finds Hitler to be surprisingly “disarming” and “authentic.”

From Los Angeles Times

Sarah Sophie Flicker shared lessons from Denmark’s resistance to the Nazis during World War II in a recent essay for The Nation.

From Salon

Hitler, as the cliché goes, built the autobahns, and Nazi Germany developed technologies like synthetic fuels, optical equipment and space flight that were ahead of the Western democracies.

From Salon