leftist
Americannoun
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leftists
plural
adjective
adjective
noun
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Nouns
Etymology
Origin of leftist
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How does leftist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
In politics, a leftist is someone who tends to support progressive or socialist ideas. Leftists generally favor bigger government and policies that result in economic and social equality. This political term, in use since the late 19th century, is from left, a word that came to mean "the democratic or liberal party." This meaning goes back to the seating arrangement of legislators in the Estates General during the French Revolution: those seated on the left supported the revolution, and came to be called la gauche, or "the left." Leftists is just another way to describe anyone with progressive or liberal political beliefs.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rocha Moya, 77, is a longtime stalwart of Mexico’s ruling Morena party and confidant of ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist who founded Morena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Mamdani offered an amiable leftist alternative to “making the trains run on time,” flexing state power to make life easier and more affordable for average citizens.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Spain’s leftist governing party oversaw passage of a new policy that allows some unauthorized migrants to apply for legal status, bringing them formally into the workforce of an aging nation.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
Around this time, the actress Olivia Wilde has said, Mr. Jagger was a sometime dinner guest at the Washington home where she grew up with her parents, the leftist journalists Andrew and Leslie Cockburn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
He was a leftist leader, and he was afire with the most uncontrollable passion: justice.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Mr. Burke’s chapters on the alliance between the Palestinian groups and West German leftists such as the Red Army Faction are especially strong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
Sheinbaum earlier attended a memorial for Martínez, whom she lauded as an inspiration for generations of Mexican women and leftists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2024
"Some leftists will vote for them," said Mr Kiszczyc, 69, who emigrated to Michigan from Poland in the 1980s.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2024
There's a vast range of legitimate political choices leftists can make, to be clear.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023
Driving out the Turks to gain national independence in 1878 is remembered, as is the abortive uprising of the leftists against the government in September 1923.
From Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Violeta D. Baluyut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
