I. -_və̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: French collectiviste, from collectivisme + -iste -ist
1. : an advocate or adherent of collectivism
2. : a member of a collective or collectivity
Synonyms:
socialist , communist : collectivist is likely to apply to a person approving or desiring greater control or outright ownership of major industries and resources by the state, presumably in the interests of a degree of economic equality among the whole people, this control or ownership to be achieved gradually and without violence but with some restriction on individual action. socialist is a close synonym for collectivist in this sense, but is likely to evoke more of an emotional reaction than collectivist. communist is likely to suggest one desiring more rigid and far-reaching control, often control achieved by force. The words socialist and communist are naturally affected in their connotations by whatever particular Socialist or Communist Party or Socialism or Communism happens to be prominent in world affairs at the moment. In matters historical or philosophical, the two words, especially the latter, may be used without praise or stigma to refer to persons favoring or accepting conditions in which the wishes and activities of the individual are checked and guided by the interests of the group, as in Plato's ideal republic, in ancient Sparta, or in some of the earliest Christian communities
II. adjective
also col·lec·tiv·is·tic ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|vistik, -ēk
1. : favoring collectivism : based on the principles of collectivism
2. : relating to or having the characteristics of collectivism