de-Stalinize

or de·sta·lin·ize

[ dee-stah-luh-nahyz, -stal-uh- ]

verb (used without object)

, de-Sta·lin·ized, de-Sta·lin·iz·ing.

1. (of a Communist country) to engage in de-Stalinization.

verb (used with object)

, de-Sta·lin·ized, de-Sta·lin·iz·ing.

1. to subject to de-Stalinization.

Word History and Origins

Origin of de-Stalinize¹

First recorded in 1955–60; de- + Stalin + -ize

Example Sentences

Kurkov was haunted by a question: Why did Khrushchev’s “thaw,” his efforts to de-Stalinize the Soviet Union, end in such colossal failure, with the ascent of the reactionary Leonid Brezhnev, who came to power in 1964 after his predecessor was deposed in a bloodless coup?

From New York Times

The goal was to "de-Stalinize" the Soviet Union, to resume Khrushchev's liberalization in the late 1950s.

From Time Magazine Archive