Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who supports or advocates for communism: A communist is someone who believes in the political and economic ideology of communism, which aims for a classless society where property and resources are publicly owned.
   • A member of a Communist Party: Specifically, a communist is an individual who is a formal member of a political party that is based on communist principles.

2. Adjective:

   • Relating to or characteristic of communism: Describes anything associated with the ideology, principles, or practices of communism.
   • Relating to a Communist Party or its members: Describes things pertaining to the specific political organizations that follow communist doctrine.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He was a dedicated communist who spent his life organizing labor unions.
  • Several communists were elected to the city council.

• Adjective:

  • The country had a communist government for over forty years.
  • They studied communist theory as part of their political science course.

Advanced Usage

• "to be accused of being a communist": To be charged or labeled as a supporter of communism, often in a negative or accusatory context.

  • During the Cold War, many artists were accused of being communists.

• "communist sympathies": Support for or favorable inclination towards communist ideas, often without formal membership in a party.

  • The investigation looked into his alleged communist sympathies.

Variants and Related Words

• Communistic (adj): An alternative adjective form meaning relating to communism. It is often used interchangeably with "communist" but can sound more formal or ideological.

  • The manifesto outlined their communistic ideals.

• Communism (n): The central ideology or system itself.

  • The fall of the Berlin Wall was a symbolic end for communism in Eastern Europe.

Synonyms

• Noun: Marxist, Bolshevik, Red (historical/ideological context).
• Adjective: collectivist, Marxist, Soviet (when referring to the former USSR).

Related Phrases

• Card-carrying communist: A phrase emphasizing someone's official, registered membership in a Communist Party.
  • He was a card-carrying communist until the party disbanded.

Idioms

• "As red as a communist": An informal and often pejorative idiom comparing something or someone to the color red, which is symbolically associated with communism.
  • His political views were considered as red as a communist.

Adjective

1. relating to or marked by communism
   • Communist Party
   • communist governments
   • communistic propaganda

Noun

1. a socialist who advocates communism
2. a member of the communist party