leftist
or Left·ist
[ lef-tist ]
/ ˈlɛf tɪst /
noun
a member of the political Left or a person sympathetic to its views.
adjective
of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or advocated by the political Left.
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Why Do “Left” And “Right” Mean Liberal And Conservative?During election seasons the words left and right denote political affiliation more than spatial direction. But where do these associations come from? The left hand has long been associated with deviance. The word “sinister” originally meant “to the left” in Latin. The word “left” comes from the Old English word lyft, which literally meant “weak, foolish.” To avoid the negative and superstitious associations of the …
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
left-luggage office, left-of-center, left-to-right shunt, left-wing, leftie, leftist, leftover, leftward, leftwards, lefty, leg
Related forms
left·ism, nounan·ti·left·ist, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for leftism
The trouble is this: when “leftism” becomes an identity element, it makes leftist politics involuntary.
Sarkozy, after all, campaigned against the excesses of 1960s leftism.
No sooner does the Left of some party break off and found a new party than it is immediately confronted by its own Leftism.
The Fruits of Victory|Norman Angell
British Dictionary definitions for leftism
leftist
/ (ˈlɛftɪst) /
adjective
of, tending towards, or relating to the political left or its principles
noun
a person who supports or belongs to the political left
Derived Forms
leftism, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Culture definitions for leftism
leftist
One who holds a left-wing viewpoint; someone who seeks radical social and economic change in the direction of greater equality.
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.