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A Communist sympathizer in Western countries, from the perspective of the political right.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, historical
Topics: government, politics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
One who unwittingly supports a malignant cause through naive attempts to be a force for good.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
Topics: government, politics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
The earliest known usage in Western media is in a 1948 article in the social-democratic Italian paper L'Umanità – as cited in the New York Times article on Italian politics (see quotations). Often misattributed to Vladimir Lenin.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
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Catalan:
idiota útil
— Translations
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Chinese Mandarin:
有用的白痴
(yǒuyòng de báichī)
— Translations
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Czech:
užitečný idiot
— Translations
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Danish:
nyttig idiot
— Translations
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Dutch:
nuttige idioot
— Translations
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Estonian:
kasulik idioot
— Translations
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Finnish:
hyödyllinen idiootti
— Translations
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French:
idiot utile
— Translations
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French:
idiote utile
— Translations
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Georgian:
სასარგებლო იდიოტი
(sasargeblo idioṭi)
— Translations
-
German:
nützlicher Idiot
— Translations
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German:
nützliche Idiotin
— Translations
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Greek:
χρήσιμος ηλίθιος
(chrísimos ilíthios)
— Translations
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Hebrew:
אידיוט שימושי
— Translations
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Hungarian:
hasznos idióta
— Translations
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Icelandic:
nytsamur sakleysingi
— Translations
-
Italian:
utile idiota
— Translations
-
Korean:
유용한 바보
(yuyonghan babo)
— Translations
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Macedonian:
корисна будала
(korisna budala)
— Translations
-
Marathi:
उपयोगी मूर्ख
(upyogī mūrkha)
— Translations
-
Marathi:
कामाचा मूर्ख
(kāmācā mūrkha)
— Translations
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Norwegian Bokmål:
nyttig idiot
— Translations
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Norwegian Nynorsk:
nyttig idiot
— Translations
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Polish:
pożyteczny idiota
— Translations
-
Polish:
pożyteczna idiotka
— Translations
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Portuguese:
idiota útil
— Translations
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Russian:
поле́зный идио́т
(poléznyj idiót)
— Translations
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Russian:
поле́зная идио́тка
(poléznaja idiótka)
— Translations
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Spanish:
idiota útil
— Translations
-
Spanish:
tonto útil
— Translations
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Spanish:
tonta útil
— Translations
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Swedish:
nyttig idiot
— Translations
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Telugu:
పనికొచ్చే చవట
(panikoccē cavaṭa)
— Translations
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Ukrainian:
кори́сний ідіо́т
(korýsnyj idiót)
— Translations
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Ukrainian:
кори́сна ідіо́тка
(korýsna idiótka)
— Translations
