fifth column
noun
Simple meaning
A group of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fifthkahluhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɪfθˈkɑləm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A group of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fifth, column.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A group of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
Used this way, fifth column is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in ethics or values and relationships contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Loyal and dependable
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
- Relationships
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.