commissar

English

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commissar

  • /ˌkɒmɪˈsɑː/ UK
  • /ˈkɑ.məˌsɑɹ/ US

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Russian комисса́р (komissár), from German Kommissar (“commissioner”), from Latin commissarius, from commissus, past participle of committō (“to commit, entrust to”). Doublet of commissary.

noun commissars

  1. historical An official of the Communist Party, often attached to a military unit, who was responsible for political education. On Monday, state media named Wang Houbin as commander of the Rocket Force and Xu Xisheng as the political commissar of the force in a report highlighting their promotion to the rank of general by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
  2. historical The head of a commissariat.
  3. colloquial, humorous, often A political functionary whose job is to push the party or government line. There is a dangerous censoriousness pulsing through American society. In small towns and big cities alike, would-be commissars are fighting, in the name of a distinct minority of Americans, to stifle open discussion and impose their views on the community at large. Dissenters, when they speak out, a

Translations

Every language

noun (Soviet Union) the head of a commissariat

한국어코미사르 komisareu, 인민 위원 inmin wiwon, 위원 wiwon
日本語コミッサール komissāru, 委員 iin
中文政委 zhèngwěi, 委員 /委员 wěiyuán
Françaiscommissaire
DeutschKommissar, Kommissarin
Italianocommissario, commissaria
Românăcomisar
Русскийкомисса́р komissár

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Cite this
MLA

"commissar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/commissar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

commissar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/commissar

Chicago

"commissar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/commissar.

BibTeX
@misc{commissar_2026,
  title = {commissar},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/commissar},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}