brownshirt

noun, often capitalized brown·shirt \ ˈbrau̇n-ˌshərt \

Updated on: 27 Feb 2018

Definition of brownshirt

: nazi; especially : storm trooper

Recent Examples of brownshirt from the Web

The political world is now divided into people who deal with objective reality and are genuinely concerned with the future of this country—and, on the other side, the president's brownshirts.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Which Fox News Host Had the Best Meltdown Over the Mueller Bombshell?," 26 Jan. 2018
Words, as the historian Thucydides warned 2,400 years ago, habitually change their meanings to reflect passing political orthodoxy — and thugs, commissars, and brownshirts oversee the charade.

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "Linguistic McCarthyism," 31 Aug. 2017
At the weekend march, the infamous hoods and robes of Klan rallies or brownshirts of neo-Nazis were hard to find, with many dressing like Mr. LaPorte.

— ben kesling, WSJ, "The New Right-Wing Extremism: Unified, Tech-Savvy and Emboldened," 16 Aug. 2017
This is a particularly strange move for someone said to be a modern brownshirt/fascist/crypto-Nazi.

— william mcgurn, WSJ, "‘America First’ Takes On a New Meaning," 23 Jan. 2017
To the top left, a cake version of every brownshirt’s favorite space ship, Serenity, followed by a Yellow Submarine that is just far too beautiful to eat.

— john brownlee, WIRED, "Yellow Submarine and Serenity by Charm City Cakes," 10 Jan. 2007
Security forces and brownshirts, working together to crush dissent with brutal violence.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Here's Video Evidence of Authoritarianism in Washington, D.C.," 17 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brownshirt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.