lunatic fringe
Movement's extreme edge
The lunatic fringe is the extreme, fanatical, or irrational faction within a larger movement or group.
Every political party has its lunatic fringe—members whose views embarrass the mainstream.
The term suggests people whose zeal has tipped into obsession or delusion: The proposal attracted support from the lunatic fringe of the environmental movement.
Obsessive cause supporter
- fanaticOverly zealous person
- radicalRoot-indicating symbol
- hardlinerStrict policy advocate
- ideologueDogmatic political advocate
maximalist · diehard · intransigent · uncompromising · doctrinaire · militant · partisan · activist
Causing sharp division
- contentiousInclined toward disagreement
- divisiveCausing sharp disagreement
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
inflammatory · taboo · hot-button · lightning rod · third rail · firestorm · backlash · uproar
Breakaway subset of organization
- factionGroup within group
- sectBreakaway religious faction
- cultFervent fringe group
- cellBasic unit of life
cadre · cabal · clique · coterie · underground · subculture · counterculture · grassroots
Extreme data points
- eccentricsUnconventional people
- misfitsThose who don't belong
- oddballsUnconventional people
- nonconformistsThose defying established customs
mavericks · rebels · dissenters · heretics · deviants · crackpots · cranks · kooks
zealot
Obsessive cause supporter
ideologue · maximalist · diehard · intransigent · uncompromising · doctrinaire · militant · partisan · activist · agitator
polarizing
Causing sharp division
- contentiousInclined toward disagreement
- divisiveCausing sharp disagreement
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
incendiary · inflammatory · taboo · hot-button · lightning rod · third rail · firestorm · backlash · uproar · outcry
splinter group
Breakaway subset of organization
cell · cadre · cabal · clique · coterie · underground · subculture · counterculture · grassroots · vanguard
outliers
Extreme data points
- eccentricsUnconventional people
- misfitsThose who don't belong
- oddballsUnconventional people
nonconformists · mavericks · rebels · dissenters · heretics · deviants · crackpots · cranks · kooks · weirdos
lunatic fringemainstream
Dominant cultural current
centrists · moderates · middle ground · political center · middle-of-the-road
lunatic fringemainstream
Dominant cultural current
establishment · orthodoxy · polite society · insiders · power brokers
lunatic fringevoice of reason
level heads · reasonable people · cool heads · scientific consensus · sound judgment
lunatic, fringe, luna, lunar, lunacy, lunatics, lunate, lunation, fringes