# pinko

Pronunciation: say "PING-koh" US /ˈpɪŋkoʊ/, UK /ˈpɪŋkəʊ/

## Noun

1. A derogatory term for a socialist, especially one whose views stop short of full communism. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: An insulting name for a person with socialist views who is not a full communist.
   - _During the campaign, the candidate branded his opponent a pinko who was soft on defense._
   - _Conservative columnists of the era smeared liberal professors as pinkos undermining the country._

## Origin

Formed from "pink" plus the suffix "-o," as a variation of "red" in the sense of "Communist": pink being a lighter, more diluted shade of red.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pinko (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).