lunatic fringe

noun

1. members on the periphery of any group, especially political, social, or religious, who hold extreme or fanatical views.

lunatic fringe

noun

1. the members of a society or group who adopt or support views regarded as extreme or fanatical

lunatic fringe

1. Derogatory name for the extreme radical members of a group, especially in politics: “The candidate referred to the organization as being on the lunatic fringe of conservatism.” The term was coined by Theodore Roosevelt .

Word History and Origins

Origin of lunatic fringe¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

Given this history, we thought he would guide the court to a place where the conservative legal movement prevailed but its lunatic fringe was defeated.

From Slate

But the best is reliever Trent Thornton, who uses “Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider.

From Seattle Times

Donald Trump uses words like “enemy” and “evil” to describe Democrats, and we’re not much better, with phrases like “lunatic fringe” spilling from my lips and keyboard regularly.

From Salon

Far-right intellectual spaces are crawling with reprehensible ideas and lunatic fringe figures that are practically begging to be mined for opposition research.

From Slate

Because of that, “no matter how much McCarthy bent over backwards to accommodate a lunatic fringe, there’s going to be someone who didn’t like him,” Ornstein said.

From Los Angeles Times