leftist

or Left·ist

[ lef-tist ]

noun

1. a member of the political Left or a person sympathetic to its views.

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or advocated by the political Left.

leftist

/ ˈlɛftɪst /

adjective

1. of, tending towards, or relating to the political left or its principles

noun

1. a person who supports or belongs to the political left

leftist

1. One who holds a left-wing viewpoint; someone who seeks radical social and economic change in the direction of greater equality.

Derived Forms

• ˈleftism, noun

Other Word Forms

• leftism noun
• anti·leftist adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of leftist¹

First recorded in 1920–25; left ¹ + -ist

Example Sentences

In his late teens, he grew interested in Central America, where the U.S. was funding military efforts against leftist guerrillas in El Salvador and the revolutionary Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

From Los Angeles Times

At the risk of sounding like a grubby leftist that Republicans want to ignore, but the GOP has what you might call a collective action problem.

From Salon

Gina Viola, a community activist and small business owner, was virtually unknown to voters before building a grassroots leftist campaign for mayor in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

The media, of course, was still “fake news” and the Democrats were still crazy leftists while the judiciary was incompetent and partisan.

From Salon

"But the one thing we agree on is that our core enemy is the urban monoculture; the leftist unifying culture."

From BBC

Related Words

• agitator
• anarchist
• extremist
• fanatic
• firebrand
• insurgent
• militant
• progressive
• rebel
• reformer
• renegade
• revolutionary
• rioter
• subversive