Origin: Greek suffix -ist
Communist has 7 different meanings across 2 categories:
a member of the communist party
"The local communist attended every meeting to discuss policy changes."
An advocate of a society based on the common ownership of property; a proponent of communism.
"The local communist attended every meeting to discuss policy changes within his party."
A member of a (nominally) Communist party.
In plain English: A communist is someone who believes that all property and resources should be owned equally by everyone instead of private individuals.
"The local communist organized a community meeting to discuss housing issues."
relating to or marked by communism
"Communist Party"
"communist governments"
"communistic propaganda"
Of, relating to, supporting, or advocating communism.
"The new communist government has been criticized by Western allies."
relating to a (nominally) Communist party.
In plain English: Communist describes someone who believes that all property and resources should be owned equally by everyone instead of private individuals.
"The communist party believed that all property should be owned collectively by everyone in society."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe systems, policies, or individuals that support state control over production and distribution rather than private ownership. It specifically denotes alignment with communist ideology as distinct from other socialist variations that may allow for market mechanisms.
The word comes from the French communiste, which combines the root for "common" or "communal" with a suffix meaning "-ist". It originally described someone who advocated for common ownership of property and resources.