ideologue

noun

ideo·​logue ˈī-dē-ə-ˌlȯg 

-ˌläg

variants or less commonly idealogue

1

: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology

2

: an impractical idealist : theorist

Synonyms of ideologue

• partisan
• militant
• activist
• crusader

Examples of ideologue in a Sentence

as long as there are ideologues controlling both sides of the aisle, legislative compromise is out of the question

the revolutionaries proved to be impractical ideologues who had no idea how to run a country

Recent Examples on the Web

The tax revolt was a successful attempt by a small group of ideologues to capitalize on people’s justifiable anger at the cost-of-living crisis that followed the war in Vietnam, along with California’s runaway home prices. — Maggie McGowan, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026

But hospitality ideologues like Guidara and Meyer never like to talk about what happens when that selflessness becomes self-destructive. — Adam Reiner, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Sep. 2026

America First ideologues, backed by the government in Washington, condemn Europe in pretty much the same terms that European reactionaries once used against the United States. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Even after a string of recent victories in congressional primaries by members of the Democratic Socialists of America, national Democrats appear slow to recognize that ideologues on the left are attempting a hostile takeover of the party. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 2