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commissar
[ kom-uh-sahr, kom-uh-sahr ]
/ ˈkɒm əˌsɑr, ˌkɒm əˈsɑr /
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noun
the head of any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called minister since 1946.
an official in any communist government whose duties include political indoctrination, detection of political deviation, etc.
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Origin of commissar
Words nearby commissar
commis, commiserate, commiseration, commish, commissaire, commissar, commissariat, commissary, commission, commissionaire, commissioned officer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use commissar in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for commissar
commissar
/ (ˈkɒmɪˌsɑː, ˌkɒmɪˈsɑː) /
noun (in the former Soviet Union)
Also called: political commissar an official of the Communist Party responsible for political education, esp in a military unit
Also called: People's Commissar (before 1946) the head of a government departmentNow called: minister
Word Origin for commissar
C20: from Russian kommissar, from German, from Medieval Latin commissārius commissary
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 commissar
commissar
[ (kom-uh-sahr) ]
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.
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.