communist
part of speech
noun (a communist, communists); adjective (communist)
meaning for a pupil
1) A communist is a person who believes in communism: the idea that land, factories and wealth should be owned by everyone together, not by private people, so that people are more equal. tree →
2) (adjective) Communist describes a country, party or government that follows these ideas, usually run by one party, like the old Soviet Union or China today. tree →
3) (often written with a capital) A Communist is a member of a Communist Party. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history and politics lessons it comes up with the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union, the Cold War, China, Cuba and North Korea. It tells the reader about a political idea and system. Phrases: «the Communist Party», «a communist country», «communist rule», «the Cold War between communist and capitalist countries». People argue a lot about communism: supporters praise its aim of equality; critics point to one-party rule, lack of freedom and famines under some communist governments.
examples
- Karl Marx wrote about communist ideas in the 1800s. tree →
- The Soviet Union was a communist country. tree →
- China is ruled by the Communist Party. tree →
- My grandad grew up in Ukraine when it was under communist rule. tree →
- During the Cold War, communist and capitalist countries were rivals. tree →
- In a communist system, the state owns the factories. tree →
- Some people called him a communist as an insult. tree →
note
Countable noun: a communist, two communists. Capital C when it means a member of a named party (the Communist Party). Related: communism (the idea), capitalism (its rival idea), socialist (a related, milder idea). Not the same as «community», though both come from the Latin for «shared». Using «communist» as an insult is common in arguments; say who is calling whom that.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «communist» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.