fascist

1 of 2

noun

fas·​cist ˈfa-shist 

also ˈfa-sist

plural fascists

1

or Fascist plural Fascists : a person who advocates or works to further the aims of fascism : an adherent of or participant in a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and forcible suppression of opposition

Dogmatism inevitably leads not to utopia, as Marxists and fascists alike have claimed, but to totalitarian repression.

—John Horgan

The continual strikes staged by the Socialists and Communists in 1919 and 1920 paved the way for the Fascists.

—Alexander Stille

2

: a person who exercises or attempts to exercise strong dictatorial control over others

—often used informally in an exaggerated way

For, as with school-children, there is something of the fascist in most office workers: they glorify order and the discipline that enforces it, even when that discipline is arbitrarily or unjustly meted out.

—Mark Jones

Just as there are food fascists who would outlaw french fries and force everyone to breakfast on bran muffins, there are fishing fascists who despise the use of live bait.

—George Will

fascist

2 of 2

adjective

1

or Fascist : advocating or working to further the aims of fascism

a fascist leader/state

fascist movements

For those too young to get the reference, Vichy was the collaborationist regime that governed occupied France during World War II—fascist Frenchmen who did the dirty work for the Germans.

—William Greider

2

: exercising or attempting to exercise dictatorial control over others : behaving in an oppressive and intolerant manner

… they argued that if behavior modification were to work on humans, it would be a morally repugnant and even fascist method of forcing people to toe an official line.

—David H. Freedman

3

: expressing or demonstrating support for fascism

a fascist salute

fascist rhetoric

Examples of fascist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Critics called the manifesto fascist. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 25 Apr. 2026

But he gets shot twice in the final shootout against the regional Nazi liaison, British fascist John Beckett (Tim Roth). —Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026

What’s striking is that Torrente is an abhorrent, fascist, Francoist, machista alcoholic yet people see him right at home in politics. —John Hopewell, Variety, 19 Mar. 2026

The fascists surrounded Madrid on three sides. —Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026

Little wonder that fascists and other miscreants feel welcome. —Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026

Shelby must deal with homegrown fascists and his own violent past in this film spinoff. —Jef Rouner, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Feb. 2026

The lineage of her home party, Fratelli d’Italia, or Brothers of Italy, traces back to the rump of Mussolini’s fascists. —Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2026

Adjective

Fascist propaganda, whether in films, posters, or mass rallies, was the creation of a fantasyland in which the masses could get lost. —Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026

Jimmy Kimmel and his supporters will call the idea of ABC dismissing him an attack on free speech and proof of a fascist administration. —Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026

Iris does this as a challenge to Lall, a beautiful ice queen who Geoff seems enamored with, but who reveals herself as a sympathizer with the rising fascist movement, rather than the democratic resistance. —John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026

In 1934, World Cup took place in Italy, then ruled by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2026

Planned amidst the rising fascist tides that by this date buffeted Switzerland’s borders on the south and north alike, the exhibition aimed to shore up a sense of national identity in a country famously marked by diverse linguistic and cultural traditions. —Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Apr. 2026

Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. —Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026

If earlier installments flirted with spectacle as a form of survival, this trailer leans even harder into the media machinery backing this fascist government. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 Apr. 2026

That’s why Fehér calls Orbán’s politics not illiberal, the word used by the prime minister, but post-fascist. —Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Italian fascista, from fascio "bundle, group" + -ista -ist entry 1 — more at fascism

Adjective

derivative of fascist entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fascist

• anti-fascist
• pre-fascist

Rhymes for fascist

• antifascist