left wing
- noun
- /lɛft wɪŋ/
- During the debate, the left wing representatives emphasized the importance of environmental protection.
Yeah, that's how you get the left wing off your back.
- Yeah, that's how you get the left wing off your back.
- In essence, anybody else from the the left wing.
Examples
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In Greece, the formerly socialist Pasok government fell to third place, leaving the left-wing Syriza as the opposition.
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"The left wing has won 12 of the 15 seats "on the socialist party executive, "including myself, Edmund MacAlpine and Jack Reed."
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I am actually doing a an entirely left wing audience tonight.
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Some have a more left wing bent and others a more right wing one.
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But I, I do think they have very left wing tendencies.
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I mean, I think, I think left wing politics has taken an identitarian turn.
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At the time, he was arguably the most left-wing president in American history.
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She was quite a radical left wing socialist.
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Many members of the left wing advocate for universal healthcare and improved social services.
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The left wing of the political party is pushing for reforms that promote social equality.
Synonyms
People and parties that want more social equality and more help from the government
Antonyms
People who support conservative political, social, and economic ideas and little change
How Left
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'left wing' is directly compositional from 'left' (the progressive side) and 'wing' (a faction or section), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the progressive faction of a group. This construction is common cross-linguistically in politics, making it clearly transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase left wing comes from old government meetings where people who wanted big change sat on the left side of the room, forming a 'wing' or side of the group. So, left wing means 'people who want social change and more equality'.