Nazi

[ naht-see, nat- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural Nazis.

a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion, antisemitism, and Aryan supremacy, all these leading directly to World War II and the Holocaust.
(often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.
(often lowercase) Sometimes Offensive. a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc.:
a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music;
health nazis trying to ban junk food.

adjective

of or relating to the Nazis.

Nazi

/ ˈnɑːtsɪ; ˈnɑːtsɪˌɪzəm; ˈnɑːtˌsɪzəm /

noun

a member of the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party, which was founded in 1919 and seized political control in Germany in 1933 under Adolf Hitler
derogatory.
anyone who thinks or acts like a Nazi, esp showing racism, brutality, etc

adjective

of, characteristic of, or relating to the Nazis

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Sensitive Note

Nazi in the extended sense of “a fanatical or domineering person” has existed at least since 1980 and parallels the use of the word police in the language police/the grammar police . Though this usage of Nazi is usually intended as jocular, it implies being intolerant of other people’s views and practices. And many people consider any extended use of the word Nazi to be offensive, in that it trivializes the terrible crimes of the German Nazis.

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Derived Forms

Nazism, noun

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Other Word Forms

an·ti-Na·zi adjective noun
pro-Na·zi adjective noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Nazi¹

First recorded in 1930–35; from German Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist “National Socialist”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Nazi¹

C20: from German, phonetic spelling of the first two syllables of Nationalsozialist National Socialist

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In 2017, she was interviewed by a local TV station after her school in Kansas was vandalised with a Nazi swastika.

From BBC

"In World War 2, we did not negotiate a surrender with the Nazis. We did not negotiate a surrender with the Japanese," he said.

From Salon

The uncompromising German inventor of the 12-tone system had just fled Nazi Germany, and the meeting became a battle of high art and entertainment.

From Los Angeles Times

I asked historian Timothy Ryback, one of the world’s leading experts on the fall of Germany’s democracy and the rise of the Nazi Party, for some historical context:

From Salon

After lingering off the coast of Florida hoping for a merciful decision from Washington, the St. Louis and its passengers returned to Europe, where the Nazis were on the march.

From Los Angeles Times

Naze nazify

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