Ultraleft

//ˌʌl.tɹəˈlɛft// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The strain or strains of leftism often associated with left communism, which practice rejection of both social democracy and state socialism as well as opposition to Leninism; i.e, ultraleftism. collective, uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    The left communist tendency characterized by a synthesis of Dutch-German council communism and Italian left communism. uncountable, usually
  3. 3
    Italian left communism; Bordigism. broadly, uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    Leftism collectively considered uncompromising and sectarian, especially anti-Leninist Marxism. derogatory, uncountable, usually
  5. 5
    An adherent of ultraleftism. countable, rare, usually
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  1. 6
    The most extreme ideologies of the political left. uncountable, usually
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to ultraleftism.

    "This rejection of anything connected with bourgeois democracy would later become associated mainly with ultraleft radicalism, but its beginnings were another matter."

  2. 2
    Of a leftist movement or ideology: extreme and uncompromising; sectarian. derogatory
  3. 3
    Extremely left-wing.

Synonyms

All synonyms
far leftfar-leftultraleftist

Example

More examples

"This rejection of anything connected with bourgeois democracy would later become associated mainly with ultraleft radicalism, but its beginnings were another matter."

Etymology

Ultimately a calque of Russian ультралевый (ulʹtralevyj, “ultraleft”, adjective), in the sense of "pertaining to extreme or uncompromising leftist ideology." From ультра- (ulʹtra-, “ultra; extremely”) + левый (levyj, “left”, adjective), equivalent to ultra- + left. Originally applied pejoratively by the Bolsheviks against libertarian socialists and early left communists, and later by Stalinists against Trotskyists; now also used neutrally to refer to certain ideologies associated with left communism or traditional Marxism. The modern meanings are partially semantically loaned from French ultra-gauche.

Related phrases

left wing

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