fascism

Fascism is defined as a system of government where a dictator has complete control.

(noun)

An example of fascism is the government led by Benito Mussolini in Italy.

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See fascism in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. the doctrines, methods, or movement of the Fascisti
  2. a system of government characterized by rigid one-party dictatorship, forcible suppression of opposition, private economic enterprise under centralized governmental control, belligerent nationalism, racism, and militarism, etc.
    1. a political movement based on such policies
    2. fascist behavior

Origin: It fascismo < fascio, political group < L fascis: see fasces

See fascism in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. often Fascism
    a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
    b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
  2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

Origin:

Origin: Italian fascismo

Origin: , from fascio, group

Origin: , from Late Latin fascium

Origin: , from Latin fascis, bundle

.

Related Forms:

  • fas·cisˈtic (fə-shĭsˈtĭk) adjective
Word History: It is fitting that the name of an authoritarian political movement like Fascism, founded in 1919 by Benito Mussolini, should come from the name of a symbol of authority. The Italian name of the movement, fascismo, is derived from fascio, “bundle, (political) group,” but also refers to the movement's emblem, the fasces, a bundle of rods bound around a projecting axe-head that was carried before an ancient Roman magistrate by an attendant as a symbol of authority and power. The name of Mussolini's group of revolutionaries was soon used for similar nationalistic movements in other countries that sought to gain power through violence and ruthlessness, such as National Socialism.

See fascism in Ologies

Fascism

See also communism; government; nationalism; politics.

anti-Hitlerism

the principles and practices of people who worked to dissolve Hitler’s dictatorship and fascism.

Bundist

a member of the German-American Volksbund, a U.S. pro-Nazi organization of the 1930s and 1940s. —Bund, n.

Falangism

the doctrines of the Falange, the fascist party of Spain. —Falangist, n.

fascism

1. the tenets of a centralized totalitarian and nationalistic government that strictly controls finance, industry, and commerce, practices rigid censorship and racism, and eliminates opposition through secret police.

2. such a form of government, as that of Italy under Mussolini. —fascist, n. —fascistic, adj.

Hitlerism

the tenets of German fascism as developed by Adolf Hitler; Nazism. —Hitlerite, n., adj.

Nazism

the German form of fascism, especially that of the National Socialist (German: Nazionalsozialist) Workers’ party under Adolf Hitler. —Nazi, n., adj.

Neo-Fascism

the post-World War II rise of a movement whose principal aim is to incorporate the doctrines of fascism into existing political systems. —Neo-Facist, n.

putschism

a method of revolution or overthrow involving secret planning, suddenness, and speed, as Hitler’s 1938 invasion of Austria. —putschist, n.

Rexist

a member of the Belgian pro-fascist party of the 1930s.

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