Dictionary — ontologydriven

protofascist en · ADJ

From proto- + fascist.

(not-comparable) Showing the beginnings of fascism.
- When Newt Gingrich and his protofascist comrades took over Congress in 1994, they sneeringly boasted that they intended to take the federal government back to the 1920s. 2008 April 7, Adolph Reed Jr., The Nation, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2009:
- These logics have been resurgent on the right for years now, evident in the presence of protofascist and authoritarian leaders in Brazil, India, Hungary, the Philippines, Russia, and Turkey, among others. 2023, Naomi Klein, “The Far Right meets the Far-Out”, in Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
- Even Lemon, for all her protofascist beliefs, wins our sympathy. 1991 August 9, Jack Helbig, “Marie and Bruce”, in Chicago Reader:

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
proto-fascist		alternative	lexicographic

From proto- + fascist.

(historical) One whose beliefs resembled fascism before the founding of fascism in 1919.
- The Social Darwinists are sometimes considered protofascists.
(derogatory) One whose opinions or policies show the beginnings of fascism.
- Along with stereotype-mongering phrases like “redneck America's life in the electronic theme park,” he occasionally reduces his countrymen to mindless proto-fascists. 1989 April 30, Martha Bayles, “Taking Sitcoms Seriously”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- As a whole, Euromaidan supporters are emphatically not the Ukrainian-speaking proto-fascists they’ve been portrayed as in pro-government and Russian media. 2014 February 5, David Stern, “Ukraine's Forever Revolution”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- That congressman is a protofascist.

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
proto-fascist		alternative	lexicographic
protofascists	Number=Plur		lexicographic