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• fascism
  fascism

  noun

  a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
• Fascism
  Fascism

  noun

  the political movement, doctrine, system, or regime of Benito Mussolini in Italy, which encouraged militarism and nationalism, organizing the country along hierarchical authoritarian lines

fascism

American  

[fash-iz-uhm] / ˈfæʃ ɪz əm /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.

3. (initial capital letter) a political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.

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Fascism ¹ British  

/ ˈfæʃɪzəm /

noun

1. the political movement, doctrine, system, or regime of Benito Mussolini in Italy, which encouraged militarism and nationalism, organizing the country along hierarchical authoritarian lines

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fascism ² British  

/ ˈfæʃɪzəm /

noun

1. any ideology or movement inspired by Italian Fascism, such as German National Socialism; any right-wing nationalist ideology or movement with an authoritarian and hierarchical structure that is fundamentally opposed to democracy and liberalism

2. any ideology, movement, programme, tendency, etc, that may be characterized as right-wing, chauvinist, authoritarian, etc

3. prejudice in relation to the subject specified

   body fascism

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fascism Cultural  

1. A system of government that flourished in Europe from the 1920s to the end of World War II. Germany under Adolf Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, and Spain under Franco were all fascist states. As a rule, fascist governments are dominated by a dictator, who usually possesses a magnetic personality, wears a showy uniform, and rallies his followers by mass parades; appeals to strident nationalism; and promotes suspicion or hatred of both foreigners and “impure” people within his own nation, such as the Jews (see also Jews) in Germany. Although both communism and fascism are forms of totalitarianism, fascism does not demand state ownership of the means of production, nor is fascism committed to the achievement of economic equality. In theory, communism opposes the identification of government with a single charismatic leader (the “cult of personality”), which is the cornerstone of fascism. Whereas communists are considered left-wing, fascists are usually described as right-wing.

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Usage

What does fascism mean? Fascism is 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 word is sometimes capitalized, especially when it specifically refers 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.

Discover More

Today, the term fascist is used loosely to refer to military dictatorships, as well as governments or individuals that profess racism and that act in an arbitrary, high-handed manner.

Other Word Forms

• antifascism
  noun
• profascism
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of fascism

First recorded in 1915–20; from Italian fascismo, equivalent to fasc(io) “bundle; political group” ( see fasces) + -ismo -ism

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Compare meaning

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

• fascism vs. socialism
• fascism vs. Nazism
• fascism vs. totalitarianism
• fascism vs. dictatorship
• fascism vs. capitalism

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Explanation

Fascism is a way of ruling that advocates total control of the people. Your parents' rule that you must be home by midnight might seem like fascism, but Europeans will tell you that it could be a lot worse. The word fascism can be hard to spell, so remember that the c comes after the s. Fascism comes from the Latin fascio, meaning “bundle, or political group.” In fascism, the people are looked at as a bundle — one body that must be controlled by the government with absolute force. There’s no option to vote, no chance to impeach a leader, and no freedom to stand up against the governing body.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fascism Fascism

Watching a new Oscar contender: La Bola Negra is a sprawling Spanish epic that grapples with the links between fascism and homophobia.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

"Our people have firmly resolved that our nation will never again go back to the dark days of fascism and that Bangladesh will never be a client state," a foreign ministry statement said.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

You have all these characters that are literally standing up to oppression and fascism, and those who are in power and they show an amount of corruption that you think only happens in books.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

We should take pride in the generations of Americans who fought tyranny, defeated Nazism and fascism, defended democracy, welcomed millions and answered the call to help nations facing war, disaster and oppression.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Soviet citizens felt that they themselves were real patriots, fighting a war against the false patriotism of fascism.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The most serious threat to liberalism was the irruption of Bolshevism, Fascism and Nazism between 1917 and 1945.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

"Fascism did not die in 1945 – it was militarily defeated but it continued to live in the mind of many Italians," says Paolo Berizzi, a journalist for the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

From BBC ● May 30, 2024

He is the Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of “How Fascism Works.”

From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2023

“I think we should take these things very seriously,” said Finchelstein, who wrote the book “From Fascism to Populism in History.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

As the world descended into anxiety, paranoia and financial meltdown, not to mention Fascism and Stalinism, increasingly it was composers embracing popular forms who became the voice of conscience.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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