Other Words from fascism

fascist \ ˈfa-shist

also -sist \ noun or adjective, often capitalized

fascistic \ fa-ˈshi-stik

also -ˈsi- \ adjective, often capitalized

fascistically \ fa-ˈshi-sti-k(ə-)lē

also -ˈsi- \ adverb, often capitalized

The Italian Origin of Fascism

The words fascism and fascist have long been associated with the Fascisti of Benito Mussolini and the fasces, the bundle of rods with an ax among them, which the Fascisti used as a symbol of the Italian people united and obedient to the single authority of the state. However, Mussolini did not introduce the word fascista (plural fascisti) with the 1919 organization of the Fasci di combattimento (“combat groups”), nor did the fasces have any direct connection with the origin of fascista. In Italian, the word fascio (plural fasci) means literally “bundle,” and figuratively “group.” From at least 1872 fascio was used in the names of labor and agrarian unions, and in October 1914 a political coalition was formed called the Fascio rivoluzionario d’ azione internazionalista (“revolutionary group for international action”), which advocated Italian participation in World War I on the side of the Allies. Members of this group were first called fascisti in January 1915. Although Mussolini was closely associated with this interventionist movement, it had no direct link with the post-war Fasci di combattimento, and in 1919 the word fascista was already in political circulation. It is, however, to the Fascisti in their 1919 incarnation—who seized power in Italy three years later—that we owe the current customary meanings of our words fascism and fascist.

Examples of fascism in a Sentence

From the first hours of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, the propagandists on both sides of the conflict portrayed the struggle in stark, Manichaean language. The totalitarian nature of both regimes made this inevitable. On one side stood Hitler, fascism, the myth of German supremacy; on the other side stood Stalin, communism, and the international proletarian revolution. — Anne Applebaum, New York Review of Books, 25 Oct. 2007 Consider what happened during the crisis of global fascism. At first, even the truth about Hitler was inconvenient. Many in the west hoped the danger would simply go away. — Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006 He collected stories about groups similar to his—Aryans, other Nazis, the KKK. Lately, he'd been flagging many stories from Germany and Eastern Europe, and was quite thrilled with the rise of fascism there. — John Grisham, The Chamber, 1995 the rise of Fascism in Europe before World War II

Recent Examples on the Web Indeed, Germany’s postwar reckoning following the Nazi era was about reeducation and transition out of fascism, and beset by guilt around the country’s role in the Holocaust and the deaths of more than 20 million Soviet people. — Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2022 That said, though, this is also an exceedingly dark season, unfolding against a backdrop of bloodlust and revenge, as well as the rise of fascism that seduced some corners of pre-WWII England. — Andy Meek, BGR, 13 June 2022 Traumatic events like hyperinflation that hit Weimar Germany and destroyed the social fabric ultimately ended in the rise of fascism. — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 23 May 2022 And America is used to saying fascism doesn’t exist here. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 15 July 2022 Travellers already versed in the timetables of Modernist biography will appreciate Ms. Arrington’s detailed account of influence and antagonism and how deeply Yeats in particular sank into aesthetic fascism. — Dominic Green, WSJ, 24 June 2022 Across generations, writers from Auden to Holleran observed how body fascism influenced the parade of barely clothed, toned bodies on the island’s beaches and dance floors. — Elaina Patton, NBC News, 17 June 2022 Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg, a fictionalized memoir of childhood in Italy in the 1920s and 30s, and fighting fascism when Mussolini comes to power. — Riza Cruz, ELLE, 11 May 2022 But Gunther’s surprise hit points to a different genesis: the anti-fascism of the ’30s and widespread revulsion at the dehumanizing horrors of World War II. — Deborah Cohen, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2022 See More

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