lunatic fringe

See synonyms for lunatic fringe on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. members on the periphery of any group, especially political, social, or religious, who hold extreme or fanatical views.

Origin of lunatic fringe

1
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Words Nearby lunatic fringe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lunatic fringe in a sentence

  • Roosevelt had, many years before, spoken of the “lunatic fringe” which clings to the skirts of every sincere reform.

    Theodore Roosevelt | Edmund Lester Pearson
  • As I have already said, there is a lunatic fringe to every reform movement.

    Theodore Roosevelt | Theodore Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for lunatic fringe

lunatic fringe

noun
  1. the members of a society or group who adopt or support views regarded as extreme or fanatical

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for lunatic fringe

lunatic fringe

Derogatory name for the extreme radical members of a group, especially in politics: “The candidate referred to the organization as being on the lunatic fringe of conservatism.” The term was coined by Theodore Roosevelt.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.