antifa

A1N1T1I1F4A1
/ænˈtiːfə//ˈæntifɑː/

proper noun

A decentralized, radical political movement that opposes fascism.

RareScrabble 9

Meanings

antifa1

proper noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Antifa.

    Much antifa work today involves exposing white supremacists online and taking action to shut down spaces where fascistic desires get fostered, fueled, and legitimized.

    2019 May 15, Ari M. Brostoff, “What Is Anti-Fascism?”, in The Nation, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2021
adjectiveantifa (comparative more antifa, superlative most antifa)

comparative more antifa · superlative most antifa

  1. abbreviationclippingClipping of antifascist.
nounantifa (countable and uncountable, plural antifas)

plural antifas

  1. abbreviationclippingcountableuncountableClipping of antifascism.
  2. abbreviationclippingcountableuncountableClipping of antifascist.

Antifa2

proper noun
  1. governmentA decentralized, radical political movement that opposes fascism.

    And the FBI is not the only federal law enforcement agency that tracks groups associated with the larger Antifa movement.

    2025 September 23, Patrick G. Eddington, “On Trump’s Anti-Antifa Executive Order”, in Cato Institute
    3 more examples

    Similarly, Antifa organized local defense units that fought off Nazi assaults and factory and land-estate committees that blocked further wage cuts and other infringements.

    1985, Andreas Dorpalen, German History in Marxist Perspective: The East German Approach, Wayne State University Press, page 385

    The active Communist participation in the leadership of the Antifa committees made them vulnerable to "red scare" propaganda, especially from the much more conservative city government.

    1996, Rebecca L. Boehling, A Question of Priorities: Democratic Reforms and Economic Recovery in Postwar Germany : Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart Under U.S. Occupation, 1945-1949, Berghahn Books, page 102

    After an anti-fascist punched a right-wing journalist in Portland, militant anti-fascists and Antifa have been branded as 'violent gangs,' even 'terrorists.' Those definitions are completely wrong.

    2019 July 3, Stanislav Vysotsky, “Antifa in America: Militant Anti-fascism Isn't Terrorism, It's Self-defense”, in Haaretz
  2. informalslanggovernmentBlack bloc groups that fight fascist or far-right groups in public, usually anarchist, socialist, or communist groups.
nounAntifa (plural Antifas)

plural Antifas

  1. governmentA local instance of this movement.

    Both the pattern and participation and the internal structure of the Antifas recalled the French underground.

    1981, James D. Wilkinson, The Intellectual Resistance in Europe, Harvard University Press, page 136
    2 more examples

    The stakes were high and the issues far-reaching; it is hardly astonishing that in cities like Bremen and Leipzig Antifas jumped the gun, exercised administrative powers without waiting for military government and continued them.

    1949, Political Science Quarterly, volume 64, Academy of Political Science

    After the war, Antifas varied in size and composition across the former Reich, now divided into four zones of occupation, and developed in interaction with the local occupying power. […] Although surviving records indicate that many Antifas were dominated by the KPD, the political mood in the early months was far from the “Third Period” adventurism of the late Weimar period.

    2017 May 28, Loren Balhorn, “The Lost History of Antifa”, in Jacobin Magazine
  2. informalslanggovernmentA member of an anti-fascist group.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. GermanAntifa
  2. EnglishAntifa

Borrowed from German Antifa, originally an abbreviation for Antifaschistische Aktion, a wing of the Communist Party of Germany founded in 1932. Also a clipping of antifascism or antifascist.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan antifa
  • antifaanti-fascist movement
Chinese Mandarin 安提法
  • 安提法 (Āntífǎ)anti-fascist movement
Dutch Antifa
  • Antifaanti-fascist movement
Esperanto kontraŭfaŝistaro, kontraŭfaŝisma movado
  • kontraŭfaŝistaroanti-fascist movement
  • kontraŭfaŝisma movadoanti-fascist movement
French antifa
  • antifaanti-fascist movement
German Antifa
  • Antifaanti-fascist movement
Hebrew אנטיפה, פעולה אנטי־פשיסטית
  • אנטיפה (antifa)anti-fascist movement
  • פעולה אנטי־פשיסטיתanti-fascist movement
Polish Antifa
  • Antifaanti-fascist movement
Russian Антифа́
  • Антифа́ (Antifá)anti-fascist movement
Spanish antifa
  • antifaanti-fascist movement
Swedish AFA, Antifascistisk aktion
  • AFAanti-fascist movement
  • Antifascistisk aktionanti-fascist movement
Yiddish אַנטיפֿאַ
  • אַנטיפֿאַ (antifa)anti-fascist movement

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with antifa

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

antifa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/antifa

MLA

“antifa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/antifa. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “antifa,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/antifa.

Source: antifa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.