INDEX:
1. words for describing extreme opinions or people
2. someone who has extreme opinions
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ POLITICS
↑ OPINION
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1. words for describing extreme opinions or people
▷ extreme /ɪkˈstriːm/ [adjective usually before noun]
extreme opinions or beliefs about politics, religion etc are too strong and most people regard them as unreasonable :
▪ Buchanan’s political views are too extreme for most Americans.
▪ extreme left-wing groups
▪ We like to present an extreme position to get people to react to it.
▷ extremist /ɪkˈstriːmɪst, ɪkˈstriːməst/ [adjective only before noun]
extremist ideas or political organizations involve actions or aims that are very strong and most people think are unreasonable :
▪ The military is expecting a violent response from extremist groups.
▪ extremist elements within the party
▪ Neither of these extremist solutions seemed very popular with the voters.
▷ far-left/far-right /ˌfɑːʳleft, fɑːʳˈraɪt/ [adjective only before noun]
relating to the most extreme left wing or right wing of a political organization or among followers of a set of political beliefs :
▪ Both the far-left Communists and the far-right National Alliance are calling for new elections.
▪ Observers are disturbed by the rise in the number of far-right militias.
▷ hardline /ˈhɑːʳdlaɪn/ [adjective only before noun]
having very definite and extreme political opinions and aims, and completely unwilling to accept or support anything different or less extreme :
▪ The army is run by a few hardline generals.
▪ Hardline separatists have rejected the proposed constitution.
▷ ultra /ˈʌltrə/ [prefix]
ultra-right-wing/left-wing/radical etc
far more right-wing, left-wing etc than usual :
▪ He spoke before the ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation on Thursday.
▪ The Socialist party has been infiltrated by members of the ultra-radical ‘True Path’ group.
2. someone who has extreme opinions
▷ extremist /ɪkˈstriːmɪst, ɪkˈstriːməst/ [countable noun]
someone who has extreme opinions, especially about politics or religion :
▪ The government condemns anyone who disagrees with it as extremists.
▪ The regime has been accused of supporting extremists in other countries in the region.
▪ Left-wing extremists have threatened to disrupt the political convention.
▷ fanatic /fəˈnætɪk/ [countable noun]
someone who agrees with and supports very extreme religious or political aims, is completely certain that their opinions are right, and who is thought to be dangerous :
▪ His parents were religious fanatics who didn’t allow him to play with other children.
▪ Pro-Fascist fanatics have continued their attacks on foreigners.
fanatical [adjective]
▪ His government has supplied weapons to fanatical separatist groups abroad.
fanaticism /fəˈnætɪsɪz ə m, fəˈnætəsɪz ə m/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Her religious fanaticism has alienated most of her old friends.
▷ hardliner /ˌhɑːʳdˈlaɪnəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who believes very deeply in a set of political aims and ideas, and will not accept or support any changes to them, even if this is unreasonable or unhelpful :
▪ Cuban-American hardliners continue to reject any dealings with Castro.
▪ The Prime Minister has been criticized by hardliners in his party for giving away too much in the treaty.
▷ militant /ˈmɪlɪtənt, ˈmɪlətənt/ [countable noun]
someone who is willing to work outside usual political structures, and use illegal or violent methods if necessary, in order to achieve political change :
▪ He is one of the militants convicted of the World Trade Center bombing.
▪ A crowd of militants took to the streets to protest the government’s policies.
militant [adjective]
▪ Yassin is the founder of the militant Islamic movement Hamas.
▷ fundamentalist /ˌfʌndəˈment ə l-ɪst, ˌfʌndəˈment ə l-əst/ [countable noun]
someone who follows the rules of their religion very strictly, in a way that seems very unusual to people who do not believe in the same way :
Christian/Muslim/Jewish/Hindu etc fundamentalist
▪ an organized Christian fundamentalist movement
fundamentalist group/leader/party/church etc
▪ They belong to a fundamentalist church.
▷ hardcore/hard-core /ˈhɑːʳdkɔːʳ/ [adjective only before noun]
the hardcore members of a political organization are the small group of people who have the strongest beliefs and who do the most work :
▪ The organization has only about 30 hardcore supporters.
▪ Dole at least had the support of loyal hard-core Republicans.
▷ zealot /ˈzelət/ [countable noun]
someone who has very extreme beliefs about something, especially about religion, and who thinks that everyone else should live their lives according to religious rules and beliefs :
▪ A few zealots strongly objected to the proposed sale of alcohol at the local store.
▪ Anti-abortion zealots are responsible for the bombing of the clinic.
▷ diehard /ˈdaɪhɑːʳd/ [countable noun]
someone who completely refuses to accept new ideas, especially political ideas, even after most other people have accepted them :
▪ Salisbury, Walton, and a few other diehards still refused to join the coalition.
▪ Taylor is one of the diehards willing to push the development program at any price.
diehard [adjective only before noun]
▪ The government supported Burnell to keep his diehard supporters happy.
▷ lunatic fringe /ˌluːnətɪk ˈfrɪndʒ/ []
a small number of people within a larger organization or movement, whose ideas are so extreme or unusual that most people think they are stupid or a little crazy :
▪ Many think the lunatic fringe has really harmed the public image of gays among the middle class.
▪ Animal rights campaigners blame the latest set of bomb attacks on the lunatic fringe within the movement.