Leftist

//ˈlɛf.tɪst// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who holds views associated with the political left.

    "The first major clash between the two groups occurred in Shih-ho-tzu on January 26, 1967, with the leftists admitting they had suffered a bloody defeat."

  2. 2
    a person who belongs to the political left wordnet
  3. 3
    Someone who holds socialist or communist-leaning economic views, usually alongside progressive social views; an anticapitalist. specifically
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to the political left.

    "In law school, when we students thought the outcome of a case was determined by a rule we had studied, leftist professors admonished us, “Tools not rules!” In other words, rules control nothing; they’re merely tools you manipulate for the results you want. The fancy word for this kind of amorality is “instrumentalism,” and it subverts the rule of law."

Adjective
  1. 1
    believing in or supporting tenets of the political left wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
left-wingercentristcollectivistcollectivistleftleft of center

Example

More examples

"I'm considering becoming a leftist."

Etymology

From left + -ist.

Related phrases

far leftistfar-leftistregressive leftist

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.