People tend to throw around a lot of labels. But they really know what they mean?

au•thor•i•tar•i•an

Pronunciation: (u-thôr"i-târ'E-un, u-thor"-),
— adj.
1. favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom: authoritarian principles; authoritarian attitudes.
2. of or pertaining to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people.
3. exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others: an authoritarian parent.

—n.
a person who favors or acts according to authoritarian principles.

con•serv•a•tive

Pronunciation: (kun-sûr'vu-tiv),
— adj.
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4. (often cap.) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5. (cap.) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative.
7. Math.(of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar.

—n.
1. a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc.
2. a supporter of conservative political policies.
3. (cap.) a member of a conservative political party, esp. the Conservative party in Great Britain.
4. a preservative.

de•moc•ra•cy

Pronunciation: (di-mok'ru-sE),
— n.,
— pl. -cies.
1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2. a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

dic•ta•tor

Pronunciation: (dik'tA-tur, dik-tA'tur),
— n.
1. a person exercising absolute power, esp. a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession.
2. (in ancient Rome) a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.
3. a person who authoritatively prescribes conduct, usage, etc.: a dictator of fashion.
4. a person who dictates, as to a secretary.

fas•cism

Pronunciation: (fash'iz-um),
— n.
1. (sometimes cap.) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2. (sometimes cap.) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.
3. (cap.) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.

gov•ern•ment

Pronunciation: (guv'urn-munt, -ur-munt),
— n.
1. the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration: Government is necessary to the existence of civilized society.
2. the form or system of rule by which a state, community, etc., is governed: monarchical government; episcopal government.
3. the governing body of persons in a state, community, etc.; administration.
4. a branch or service of the supreme authority of a state or nation, taken as representing the whole: a dam built by the government.
5. (in some parliamentary systems, as that of the United Kingdom)
a. the particular group of persons forming the cabinet at any given time: The Prime Minister has formed a new government.
b. the parliament along with the cabinet: The government has fallen.
6. direction; control; management; rule: the government of one's conduct.
7. a district governed; province.
8. See political science.
9. Gram.the extablished usage that requires that one word in a sentence should cause another to be of a particular form: the government of the verb by its subject.

left' wing'

1. members of a liberal or radical political party, or those favoring extensive political reform.
2. such a party or a group of such parties.
3. the part of a political or social organization advocating a liberal or radical position.

lib•er•al

Pronunciation: (lib'ur-ul, lib'rul),
— adj.
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often cap.) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.

—n.
1. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
2. (often cap.) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.

lib•er•tar•i•an

Pronunciation: (lib"ur-târ'E-un),
— n.
1. a person who advocates liberty, esp. with regard to thought or conduct.
2. a person who maintains the doctrine of free will (distinguished from necessitarian).

—adj.
1. advocating liberty or conforming to principles of liberty.
2. maintaining the doctrine of free will.

na•tion•al•ism

Pronunciation: (nash'u-nl-iz"um, nash'nu-liz"-),
— n.
1. national spirit or aspirations.
2. devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism.
3. excessive patriotism; chauvinism.
4. the desire for national advancement or independence.
5. the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.
6. an idiom or trait peculiar to a nation.
7. a movement, as in the arts, based upon the folk idioms, history, aspirations, etc., of a nation.

ol•i•gar•chy

Pronunciation: (ol'i-gär"kE),
— n.,
— pl. -chies.
1. a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
2. a state or organization so ruled.
3. the persons or class so ruling.

pa•tri•ot

Pronunciation: (pA'trE-ut, -ot" or, esp. Brit., pa'trE-ut),
— n.
1. a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.
2. a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, esp. of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.
3. (cap.) Mil.a U.S. Army antiaircraft missile with a range of 37 mi. (60 km) and a 200-lb. (90 kg) warhead, launched from a tracked vehicle with radar and computer guidance and fire control.

plu•toc•ra•cy

Pronunciation: (plOO-tok'ru-sE),
— n.,
— pl. -cies.
1. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.
2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules.
3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.

pro•gres•sive

Pronunciation: (pru-gres'iv),
— adj.
1. favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, esp. in political matters: a progressive mayor.
2. making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.
3. characterized by such progress, or by continuous improvement.
4. (cap.) of or pertaining to any of the Progressive parties in politics.
5. going forward or onward; passing successively from one member of a series to the next; proceeding step by step.
6. noting or pertaining to a form of taxation in which the rate increases with certain increases in taxable income.
7. of or pertaining to progressive education: progressive schools.
8. Gram.noting a verb aspect or other verb category that indicates action or state going on at a temporal point of reference.
9. Med.continuously increasing in extent or severity, as a disease.

—n.
1. a person who is progressive or who favors progress or reform, esp. in political matters.
2. (cap.) a member of a Progressive party.
3. Gram.
a. the progressive aspect.
b. a verb form or construction in the progressive, as are thinking in They are thinking about it.

prop•a•gan•da

Pronunciation: (prop"u-gan'du),
— n.
1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.
3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.
4. Rom. Cath. Ch.
a. a committee of cardinals, established in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, having supervision over foreign missions and the training of priests for these missions.
b. a school (College of Propaganda) established by Pope Urban VIII for the education of priests for foreign missions.
5. Archaic.an organization or movement for the spreading of propaganda.

rep•re•sent•a•tive

Pronunciation: (rep"ri-zen'tu-tiv),
— n.
1. a person or thing that represents another or others.
2. an agent or deputy: a legal representative.
3. a person who represents a constituency or community in a legislative body, esp. a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a lower house in certain state legislatures.
4. a typical example or specimen of a group, quality, or kind.

—adj.
1. serving to represent; representing.
2. standing or acting for another or others.
3. made up of representatives: a representative assembly.
4. of or pertaining to a system of governance by chosen representatives, usually elected from among a large group: representative government.
5. exemplifying a group or kind; typical: a representative selection of Elizabethan plays.
6. corresponding to or replacing some other species or the like, as in a different locality.
7. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of representationalism.
8. pertaining to or of the nature of a mental image or representation.

re•pub•lic

Pronunciation: (ri-pub'lik),
— n.
1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
4. (cap.) any of the five periods of republican government in France. Cf. First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic, Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic.
5. (cap., italics.) a philosophical dialogue (4th centuryb.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.

right' wing'

1. members of a conservative or reactionary political party, or those opposing extensive political reform.
2. such a political party or a group of such parties.
3. that part of a political or social organization advocating a conservative or reactionary position: The union's right wing favored a moderate course of action.

so•cial•ism

Pronunciation: (sO'shu-liz"um),
— n.
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles. Cf. utopian socialism.

the•oc•ra•cy

Pronunciation: (thE-ok'ru-sE),
— n.,
— pl. -cies.
1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.
3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.

tyr•an•ny

Pronunciation: (tir'u-nE),
— n.,
— pl. -nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler.
4. oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler.
5. undue severity or harshness.
6. a tyrannical act or proceeding.

Unless otherwise indicated, all definitions are from the InfoPlease online dictionary at http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary.html.