1. people or groups that held or promoted ideas, movements, or ideologies that preceded or foreshadowed fascism, or that shared some characteristics with fascism before the formal emergence of fascist movements
Usage: plural form; historical/political; often used in academic or historical analysis

Examples

• Historians debate whether certain 19th-century nationalist movements should be classified as prefascists.
• The study examined prefascists in European politics during the interwar period.
• Some scholars identify prefascists among authoritarian figures who predated World War II.
• The book analyzes how prefascists laid groundwork for later fascist regimes.