leftist

American  

[lef-tist] / ˈlɛf tɪst /

Or Leftist

noun

1. a member of the political Left or a person sympathetic to its views.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or advocated by the political Left.

leftist British  

/ ˈlɛftɪst /

adjective

1. of, tending towards, or relating to the political left or its principles

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noun

1. a person who supports or belongs to the political left

leftist Cultural  

1. One who holds a left-wing viewpoint; someone who seeks radical social and economic change in the direction of greater equality.

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Other Word Forms

• antileftist adjective
• leftism noun

Etymology

Origin of leftist

First recorded in 1920–25; left ¹ + -ist

Compare meaning

How does leftist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• leftist vs. rightist

Example Sentences

Complaints about Copland’s leftist leanings pressured Eisenhower to cancel the performance, but left inklings in Ike’s mind that the nation needed a performing arts center in Washington, D.C.

From Los Angeles Times

Four years later, he had enough arriviste chutzpah to run for state governor as the candidate for the Liberty Union Party—a leftist Vermont grouping.

From The Wall Street Journal

Its huge white storage tanks serve as canvases for slogans evoking Chavismo, the political ideology that governed Venezuela for the past 27 years and is named after late former leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

From Barron's

Mr. Burke’s chapters on the alliance between the Palestinian groups and West German leftists such as the Red Army Faction are especially strong.

From The Wall Street Journal

The allegations have sparked strong reactions in Spain, with members of the leftist government backing the complainants and demanding that an investigation establishes the truth.

From Barron's

Related Words

• agitator
• anarchist
• extremist
• fanatic
• firebrand
• insurgent
• militant
• progressive
• rebel
• reformer
• renegade
• revolutionary
• rioter
• subversive