brownshirt

noun, often capitalized

brown·shirt | \ˈbrau̇n-ˌshərt

\

Definition of brownshirt

: nazi especially : storm trooper

Examples of brownshirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

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The first known use of brownshirt was in 1932

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