fascism

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fascism^¹

/ˈfæʃɪz(ə)m/ US
/faˈsiz(ə)m/ Philippines
/faˈsis(ə)m/ Philippines

Where it comes from

From Italian fascismo, from fascio (“fasces, bundle, group”) + -ismo (“-ism”) with direct reference to Benito Mussolini's fasci di combattimento ("fight clubs"), from Latin fasces, bundles of axes and rods carried before the magistrates of the ancient Roman Republic as representative of their power of life and death. Originally with exclusive reference to Fascist Italy which used the fasces as an emblem, later broadened to describe all of the Axis Powers of World War II, and subsequently used as a general term of opprobrium in English and international political discourse.

Etymology tree

Latin fascis

Italian fascio

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)

Proto-Indo-European *-mos

Proto-Indo-European *-mós

Ancient Greek -μός (-mós)

Ancient Greek -ῐσμός (-ĭsmós)bor.

Latin -ismus

Italian -ismo

Italian fascismolbor.

English fascism

noun fascisms · Fascism

uncountable, usually Any right-wing, authoritarian, nationalist ideology characterized by centralized, totalitarian governance, strong regimentation of the economy and society, and repression of criticism or opposition. Fascism, at any rate the German version, is a form of capitalism that borrows from Socialism just such features as will make it efficient for war purposes... Ownership has never been abolished, there are still capitalists and workers, and—this is the important point, and the real reason why rich men
uncountable, usually The ideology and practice of the 20th-century Italian movement from which this name came. Today "Fascism" like Russian "Bolshevism" does not know what freedom means and cares less about the principles of liberty and the rights of man. It knows only one law and that is the will of Mussolini and his band of "Black Shirts."
broadly, derogatory, uncountable, usually Any system of strong autocracy or oligarchy usually to the extent of bending and breaking the law, race-baiting, and/or violence against largely unarmed populations. ...even the people who recklessly fling the word ‘Fascist’ in every direction attach at any rate an emotional significance to it. By ‘Fascism’ they mean, roughly speaking, something cruel, unscrupulous, arrogant, obscurantist, anti-liberal and anti-working-class. Except for the relatively small numb
derogatory, figuratively, uncountable, usually Any extreme reliance on or enforcement of rules and regulations.
Similar: sticklerism

Opposite: antifascism, anti-fascism

Fascism^²

noun

uncountable Alternative letter-case form of fascism The author is not to blame for the fact that so much lying propaganda against the Communists has created a climate of opinion that paves the way for Fascism and a third world war. This study is concerned only with dispelling of fear, with opening the channels of communication, and with reversing the

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: nazism, antifascist, monarcho, dictatorship, despotism, tyranny, autocracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, corporatism, illiberalism, statism, reactionism, absolutism, militarism, ultranationalism

noun

Opposite: antifascism, anti-fascism

Translations

Every language

noun system of strong autocracy or oligarchy

Italiano	fascismo
Русский	фаши́зм fašízm

noun extreme totalitarian political regime

Español	fascismo
한국어	파시즘 pasijeum
日本語	ファシズム fashizumu
中文	法西斯主義 /法西斯主义 fǎxīsī zhǔyì
हिन्दी	फ़ासीवाद fāsīvād, फ़ैसिज़्म faisizm, फ़ासिज़्म fāsizm
Português	fascismo
Français	fascisme
Deutsch	Faschismus
Italiano	fascismo
Ελληνικά	φασισμός fasismós
Română	fascism
Русский	фаши́зм fašízm
Tiếng Việt	chủ nghĩa phát xít
العربية	فَاشِيَّة fāšiyya
עברית	פַשִׁיזְם fashizm

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Cite this

MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{fascism_2026,
  title = {fascism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fascism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}