Bolshevism
Americannoun
-
the doctrines, methods, or procedure of the Bolsheviks.
-
(sometimes lowercase) the principles or practices of ultraradical socialists or political ultraradicals generally.
Other Word Forms
- anti-Bolshevism noun
- non-Bolshevism noun
- pro-Bolshevism noun
Etymology
Origin of Bolshevism
First recorded in 1915–20; Bolshev(ik) + -ism
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.
Or that Winston Churchill—who in 1919 said Bolshevism should be strangled in its cradle—became Stalin’s puppet 22 years later?
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
But what this analysis fails to consider is that I first encountered Bolshevism on Trial at a very impressionable age!
From Slate • Feb. 23, 2020
Just as many of the Nazis they were dealing with saw the Cold War as part two of their own epic crusade against Bolshevism.
From Salon • Oct. 15, 2015
“He believed that Bolshevism is absolute evil,” wrote the grandson, Peter Basilevsky, in 2007.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 21, 2015
Under such conditions, to talk of the renaissance of Proudhonist prejudices in the shape of Bolshevism can only take place when one has lost all traces of theoretical honesty and historical understanding.
From Dictatorship vs. Democracy (Terrorism and Communism) by Trotzky, Leon Davidovich
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.