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
But the amount of methane leaking from landfills could be much greater, environmentalists and regulators have said.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Nuclear has long come under fire by environmentalists due to radioactive waste and disasters like Chernobyl.
—Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2025
In turn, those changes have scrambled automakers' multibillion-dollar plans to try to meet them with new models and set off lawsuits by environmentalists, consumers and the states.
—Todd Spangler, Freep.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Residents living in the area and local environmentalists have cited a litany of concerns including traffic congestion, loss of farmland and proximity to Paso Verde, a public elementary school within the Natomas Unified School District.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 3 Dec. 2025
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Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Nuclear has long come under fire by environmentalists due to radioactive waste and disasters like Chernobyl.
—Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2025
In turn, those changes have scrambled automakers' multibillion-dollar plans to try to meet them with new models and set off lawsuits by environmentalists, consumers and the states.
—Todd Spangler, Freep.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Residents living in the area and local environmentalists have cited a litany of concerns including traffic congestion, loss of farmland and proximity to Paso Verde, a public elementary school within the Natomas Unified School District.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 3 Dec. 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 16 Dec. 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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