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English Lexicon

Gulag

/ˈɡuː.læɡ/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A system of forced-labor camps maintained in the Soviet Union from the 1930s to the 1950s under Stalin's rule.

    "Millions of political prisoners and criminals were sent to endure brutal conditions in the Siberian gulag."
  2. 2

    Any forced-labor camp or a place of extreme hardship, isolation, and authoritarian oppression.

    "The regime turned the remote island into a political gulag for dissidents."
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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Borrowed into English in the mid-20th century from Russian, as an acronym for Glavnoye Upravleniye Lagerey, meaning 'Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps'. Originally designating the government agency that administered the Soviet forced-labor camp system, the term evolved to refer generally to any of the camps themselves, and later metaphorically to any oppressive or harsh penal system.

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