defeatist









defeatist


noun

  1. a person who surrenders easily or is subject to defeatism.
  2. an advocate or follower of defeatism as a public policy.

adjective

  1. marked by defeatism.

1918, adjective and noun, in reference to pacifists and political opposition in Britain, from French défaitiste, which was used there in reference to the Russians who sought to end their war with Germany; see defeat (n.) + -ist. Their opposition, in the original Russian context, were called defensists.

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