environmentalist
noun
en·vi·ron·men·tal·ist
in-ˌvī-rə(n)-ˈmen-tə-ləst 
-ˌvī(-ə)r(n)-
plural environmentalists
: an advocate of environmentalism : a person who is focused on the preservation, restoration, and improvement of the natural environment
While dams have been touted in the name of water conservation and clean, renewable energy, environmentalists have long challenged the claim that dams are "green" technology. The deleterious ecological impacts of dams, they insist, have been profound.—
Patrick Joseph
Patrick JosephMeanwhile, environmentalists have responded that climate change and habitat loss due to development should require builders to think even more carefully about their projects.—Emma Cotton et al.
Emma Cotton et al.Examples of environmentalist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
John Burton, who championed liberal causes during his 40 years in California politics as an environmentalist, tenants’ rights advocate, and defender of the working class and labor, has died.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Tribes and environmentalists hold high hopes that both the fall and spring salmon runs will rebound in a few years.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
Critics—who include Democrats, civil rights groups and environmentalists—have said detainees at the facility are forced to endure unsafe, unsanitary and inhumane living conditions and that Alligator Alcatraz defies environmental laws.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Wiener and environmentalists backing the bill could muster no solid evidence against this contention, so Democratic senators like Tom Umberg, of Anaheim, and Maria Elena Durazo, of Los Angeles, withheld their votes.
—Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
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Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Tribes and environmentalists hold high hopes that both the fall and spring salmon runs will rebound in a few years.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
Critics—who include Democrats, civil rights groups and environmentalists—have said detainees at the facility are forced to endure unsafe, unsanitary and inhumane living conditions and that Alligator Alcatraz defies environmental laws.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Wiener and environmentalists backing the bill could muster no solid evidence against this contention, so Democratic senators like Tom Umberg, of Anaheim, and Maria Elena Durazo, of Los Angeles, withheld their votes.
—Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for environmentalist
Cite this Entry
“Environmentalist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environmentalist. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
environmentalist
noun
en·vi·ron·men·tal·ist
-ˌvī-rən-ˈment-ᵊl-əst
-ˌvī(-ə)rn-
: a person concerned about environmental quality and especially with controlling pollution
Medical Definition
environmentalist
noun
en·vi·ron·men·tal·ist
-ᵊl-əst
1
: an advocate of environmentalism
2
: one concerned about environmental quality especially of the human environment with respect to the control of pollution
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