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definitions

leftist

or Left·ist

[lef-tist]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leftist ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of leftist

First recorded in 1920–25; left1 + -ist
Related formsleft·ism, nounan·ti·left·ist, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for leftism

liberal, leftist, left, progressive, radical, liberalism, progressiveness, progressivism

Examples from the Web for leftism

Contemporary Examples of leftism

  • The trouble is this: when “leftism” becomes an identity element, it makes leftist politics involuntary.

    The Daily Beast logo
    The Israeli Left's Identity Issues

    Elisheva Goldberg

    December 10, 2012

  • Sarkozy, after all, campaigned against the excesses of 1960s leftism.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Carla on the Couch

    Eric Pape

    October 22, 2009

Historical Examples of 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.

British Dictionary definitions for leftism

leftist

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 Formsleftism, noun
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
Word Origin and History for leftism
n.

1917, from left in the political sense + -ism.

leftist

adj.

1897, from left (adj.) in the political sense + -ist.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
leftism in Culture

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.