commissar

American  

[kom-uh-sahr, kom-uh-sahr] / ˈkɒm əˌsɑr, ˌkɒm əˈsɑr /

noun

1. the head of any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called minister since 1946.

2. an official in any communist government whose duties include political indoctrination, detection of political deviation, etc.

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commissar British  

/ ˌkɒmɪˈsɑː, ˈkɒmɪˌsɑː /

noun

1. Also called: political commissar.  an official of the Communist Party responsible for political education, esp in a military unit

2. Now called: minister.  Also called: People's Commissar.  (before 1946) the head of a government department

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commissar Cultural  

1. In various communist systems of government, an official assigned to a group to ensure the group's conformity to Communist party doctrine. The heads of government departments in the former Soviet Union were called commissars.

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Etymology

Origin of commissar

1915–20; < Russian komissár < German Kommissar < Medieval Latin commissārius commissary

Example Sentences

Over the years, Muivah transformed from jungle commissar to political negotiator.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025

The prolific author also serves as a kind of cultural commissar, heading the government’s publishing house, El Fondo de Cultura Económica, which has published 10,000-plus titles across genres in its august, 90-year history.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2025

Wang Wenquan will act as political commissar of the Southern Theater Command that oversees China’s operations in the highly contested South China Sea.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2023

His deputy, Gen. Liu Guangbin, and the political commissar of the force, Gen. Xu Zhongbo, have also vanished from public view.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023

“Our commissar gathered us together in a big dugout and told us what had happened,” said the regimental navigator, Valya Kravchenko—the one who’d last year scrounged cabbages on the train ride to Engels.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein