Nazi

[ naht-see, nat- ]
/ ˈnɑt si, ˈnæt- /

noun, plural Na·zis.

a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler and advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion, anti-Semitism, and Aryan supremacy, all these leading directly to World War II and the Holocaust.
(often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.
(often lowercase) Sometimes Offensive. a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc.: a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music; health nazis trying to ban junk food.

adjective

of or relating to the Nazis.

Origin of Nazi

1925–30; < German Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist National Socialist

usage note for Nazi

Nazi in the extended sense of "a fanatical or domineering person" has existed at least since 1980 and parallels the use of the word police in the language police/the grammar police . Though this usage of Nazi is usually intended as jocular, it implies being intolerant of other people’s views and practices. And many people consider any extended use of the word Nazi to be offensive, in that it trivializes the terrible crimes of the German Nazis.

OTHER WORDS FROM Nazi

an·ti-Na·zi, noun, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for nazis

British Dictionary definitions for nazis

Nazi
/ (ˈnɑːtsɪ) /

noun plural Nazis

a member of the fascist National Socialist German Workers' Party, which was founded in 1919 and seized political control in Germany in 1933 under Adolf Hitler
derogatory anyone who thinks or acts like a Nazi, esp showing racism, brutality, etc

adjective

of, characteristic of, or relating to the Nazis

Derived forms of Nazi

Nazism (ˈnɑːtˌsɪzəm) or Naziism (ˈnɑːtsɪˌɪzəm), noun

Word Origin for Nazi

C20: from German, phonetic spelling of the first two syllables of Nationalsozialist National Socialist

Cultural definitions for nazis

Nazis
[ (naht-seez, nat-seez) ]