English Reference

Word

marxist

Phoneticsmarx·ist

/ˈmɑɹksəst/

Definitions

01a follower of Marx

B2

n. someone who believes in the political and economic ideas of Karl Marx, focusing on the struggle between social classes.

n. an adherent of the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, particularly concerning class struggle and the critique of capitalism.

“The professor is a well-known Marxist who writes about how workers are treated.”

“As a committed Marxist, the historian argued that the revolution was an inevitable result of the widening gap between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.”

Academic

Teaching tip

While often used interchangeably with 'socialist' or 'communist' in casual speech, in academic contexts it specifically refers to the analytical framework of Karl Marx.

Antonyms

02relating to Marxism

C1

adj. describing something that follows or uses the ideas of Karl Marx.

adj. relating to or characteristic of the theories of Karl Marx; typically used as a non-gradable attributive adjective.

“She used a Marxist approach to explain why some countries are poor.”

“The student provided a Marxist analysis of the film, focusing on the power dynamics between the wealthy characters and their servants.”

Academic

Usage

Usually placed before the noun it describes.

Synonyms

Marxian

Etymology

From Marx + -ist. Piecewise doublet of Marxista.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

MarxismNounMarxistNoun

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

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