popular front
1
7.4
- noun
:
frente popular
- The popular front united various left-wing groups to oppose the rise of fascism in Europe.
Examples
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The new democratic commitment of the Latin American Left has been embodied in the pluralistic concept in which interparty unity encompasses a greater diversity of ideological positions on the Left than it did during the popular front period of the 1930s.
Academic text (1996) -
There was no hope for a "popular front" against the Nazi movement that began to capture ever-wider segments of Austrian society.
Academic text (1995) -
My parents were readers of a newspaper called PM, which was a kind of Popular Front daily in New York.
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One can see how successful the popular front organizations were: in 1935, France and Russia signed a defensive alliance.
Blog text (25) -
She learned more from the American Popular Front, from the American Communist Party.
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Hamas and the popular front organizations know full well that the hunt for people like Jabari will be followed by attacks on Gaza's infrastructure.
Blog text (19) -
Chinatown politics had enjoyed a period of popular front unity during the 1930s and 1940s, but that situation changed after the Chinese Revolution and the advent of the Cold War.
Academic text (1998) -
The Seventh Congress of the Comintern made the change in line official in 1935, when it declared the need for a popular front of all groups opposed to fascism.
Blog text (31) -
In the 1930s, under the heightened racism of the Nazis, Boas embraced cosmopolitanism and popular front politics.
Academic text (1993) -
Communists saw a chance to break out of the political wilderness when, in 1935, Moscow sought to broaden the Party's appeal by declaring a "popular front" against the rise of Fascism.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
People or groups who act together to show unity and reach a shared goal
How Popular
2
3.4
1
7.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'popular' (of or supported by the people) and 'front' (an organized group or public face) together transparently suggest a political group or movement representing popular interests, so learners can infer a general meaning like 'a political alliance.' However, the specific historical/political nuance — that it denotes a left-wing coalition formed to oppose a common adversary (especially fascism) — is specialized and not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Popular front comes from the 1930s, when different left parties stood together to stop rising fascism. The name gives a clear picture: many popular groups formed one front or line to block a common enemy, so it means a united coalition of left parties against a shared opponent.