fascist meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

fascist

adjalso spelled Fascist

US /ˈfæʃɪst/ · Philippines /ˈfa.sɪst/

Etymology 1921, from Italian fascista, from fascio (“bundle, bunch”), in use metonymically for "group of men organized for political purposes" since 1895. Ultimately with reference to the fasces or bundles of axes and rods carried before the magistrates of ancient Rome in token of their power of life and death.

Of or relating to fascism.

Supporting the principles of fascism.

Under demagogues such as Donald Trump in the U.S., Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Recep Erdoğan in Turkey, Narendra Modi in India and Viktor Orbán in Hungary, a moral abyss has emerged in which state violence, widespread repression and a surge of lawlessness against those considered disposable have become the hallmark of an updated fascist politics.2020 March 2, Henry A. Giroux, “Auschwitz Survivors Don’t Want Their Past to Be Their Grandchildren’s Future”, in Truthout, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2021:

Figuratively, Informal Unfairly oppressive or needlessly strict.

I have a fascist boss.

Synonyms: fascistic

fascist

noun

A proponent of fascism.

Mussolini was a fascist well known for his repression of criticism and totalitarian government.
Fascist? I'm not fascist. You're the fascist!

2 more examples

[I]f I can shoot rabbits / Then I can shoot fascists.1998, “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next”, in This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, performed by Manic Street Preachers:
Thursday's long-awaited relocation fulfils a key pledge of the socialist government, which said Spain should not continue to glorify a fascist who ruled the country for nearly four decades.2019 October 24, “Franco exhumation: Spanish dictator's remains moved”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2023:

Derived terms: 46 terms
anarcho-fascist, anti-fascist, Austrofascist, biofascist, crypto-fascist, eco-fascist, ecofascist, Eurofascist, fascist Germany, fascistic, fascistization, fascistize, fascistlike, fascistoid, fascisty, fash, fashwave, Faucist, femifascist, heterofascist, homofascist, Islamofascist, Judeofascist, monarcho-fascist, monarchofascist, neo-fascist, neofascist, nonfascist, para-fascist, postfascist, prefascist, profascist, proto-fascist, protofascist, quasi-fascist, red fascist, religio-fascist, religiofascist, religofascist, scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds, scratch a liberal and you'll find a fascist, semifascist, social fascist, superfascist, technofascist, Ukrofascist clerofascist
Related terms: fascism, Nazi, nazi

Fascist

adj

Fascism, Government, History, Human sciences, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics, Sciences Of or pertaining to the Kingdom of Italy from 1922–1943.

In May 1929 Hitler successfully prosecuted a libel action against right-wing and left-wing opponents who had accused him of ‘betraying’ the South Tyrol in return for Fascist gold.1978, Meir Michaelis, Mussolini and the Jews: German-Italian relations and the Jewish question in Italy, 1922–1945, Clarendon Press, page 46:
By the late 1930s Rome had new Fascist bridges, a new university, four new post offices and a number of new ministry buildings, which included, on Via Veneto, the Ministry of Corporations, that were to be Fascism’s answer to capitalist exploitation and Marxist class hatred.2019, Matthew Kneale, “seven”, in Rome: A History in Seven Sackings, New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, published 2017, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 305:

Fascist

noun

Fascism, Government, Human sciences, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics, Sciences Historical, Sometimes A member of the National Fascist Party in Italy from 1922 to 1943.

Fascism, Government, Human sciences, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics, Sciences Historical, Sometimes Synonym of Nazi.

The Fascists invaded the USSR, they occupied many cities, they killed millions of people, they destroyed half the country.2010, German Sadulaev, I Am a Chechen!, Random House, →ISBN, section 10, page 199:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for fascist and Fascist.