Meanings
- uncountableThe political ideology associated with Philippe Pétain.
In such ways the favoured status of Pétainism within Nazi-Occupied Europe limped on until the Allied invasions of 1944.
1985, Harry Roderick Kedward, Roger Austin, Vichy France and the Resistance: culture & ideology, Taylor & Francis, page 2362 more examples
Secondly, Pétainism was identified with common sense and realism. No argument against Pétain could start from a sound basis: it was made to look absurd, and people who objected to his leadership were 'flying in the face of fact'.
1985, Harry Roderick Kedward, Occupied France: collaboration and resistance, 1940-1944, Wiley-Blackwell, page 19Giraud's escape from the Koenigstein prison camp did not mark a break with Pétainism; on the contrary, it was helped by elements of the Vichy intelligence service.
2006, Richard Vinen, The unfree French: life under the occupation, Allen Lane, page 209Synonyms: Vichyism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe political ideology associated with Philippe Pétain.
Origin
After chief of state of Vichy France Philippe Pétain, + -ism.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French pétainisme
- pétainismeideology
Cite this entry
Pétainism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/P%C3%A9tainism
“Pétainism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/P%C3%A9tainism. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pétainism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/P%C3%A9tainism.
Source: Pétainism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.