Nazi

American  

[naht-see, nat-] / ˈnɑt si, ˈnæt- /

noun

• Nazis
  plural

1. a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion, antisemitism, and Aryan supremacy, all these leading directly to World War II and the Holocaust.

2. (often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.

3. (often lowercase) a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc..

   a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music;

   health nazis trying to ban junk food.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Nazis.

Nazi British  

/ ˈnɑːtsɪ, ˈnɑːtsɪˌɪzəm, ˈnɑːtˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a member of the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party, which was founded in 1919 and seized political control in Germany in 1933 under Adolf Hitler

2. derogatory anyone who thinks or acts like a Nazi, esp showing racism, brutality, etc

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adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Nazis

Sensitive Note

Nazi in the extended sense of “a fanatical or domineering person” has existed at least since 1980 and parallels the use of the word police in the language police/the grammar police . Though this usage of Nazi is usually intended as jocular, it implies being intolerant of other people’s views and practices. And many people consider any extended use of the word Nazi to be offensive, in that it trivializes the terrible crimes of the German Nazis.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Nazism
  noun
• anti-Nazi
  adjective
• pro-Nazi
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Nazis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Nazi

First recorded in 1930–35; from German Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist “National Socialist”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Nazi Nazis

Bibilocide—attacks on the written word—was a tactic of Nazi Germany, the Khmer Rouge and ISIS.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Once war with Nazi Germany began, Delmer was recruited to run what Mr. Pomerantsev describes as Britain’s “empire of tricks” against the Third Reich.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

They included General Dietrich von Choltitz, the last Nazi commander in Paris, who arrived in late August 1944 after defying Hitler and surrendering the city.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

The board singled out the persistent bombing of German oil and communications facilities as a factor that impeded the resupply of the Nazi tank army.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

At the same time, the Nazi Party considered democracy even worse, and was vehemently opposed to it.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Joseph Weizenbaum, Eliza’s creator, was born in Berlin and fled to Detroit as a teenager to escape the Nazis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

"We didn't see any Nazis in the audience, by the way," Villuendas noted.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The German and Austrian symphonic and operatic music of the 1930s happens to be the root of the Hollywood soundtrack, created by composers such as Erich Korngold, who fled the Nazis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

By then, he said, "she had already seen that the Nazis started war on the neighbouring countries" and "seen a great deal about where things are headed".

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

There’s no more Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune, not since the Nazis took France.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin