environmentalism

noun

en·​vi·​ron·​men·​tal·​ism in-ˌvī-rə(n)-ˈmen-tə-ˌli-zəm 

-ˌvī(-ə)r(n)-

1

: a political and social movement focused on the preservation, restoration, and improvement of the natural environment

I urge the community to renew our commitment to environmentalism by focusing on the defining issue of our generation: global warming.

—Dan Wolk

She had embraced environmentalism as a college student, then worked with various NGOs to reduce China's air and water pollution …

—Lin Yang

Here in the heavy industry heartland of Colombia, environmentalism has old roots and has endured through decades of violence and intimidation.

—Fatima Garcia Elena

2

dated : a theory that views environment rather than heredity as the important factor in the development and especially the cultural and intellectual development of an individual or group

… an extreme environmentalism developed in psychology and anthropology which minimized, if not denied altogether, any genetic contribution to the differences among human individuals.

—Ernst Mayr

Examples of environmentalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their return was facilitated by the rise of environmentalism in the 1970s, and progressive laws aimed at restoring biodiversity. —Jonathan C. Slaght, The Atlantic, 11 June 2025

This is no longer just a matter of environmentalism. —Natalie Madeira Cofield, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025

Peaceful Death Related Articles Rebuilding requires reimagining environmentalism On November 16, 2022, Andrew was in his bedroom with its stunning view of the setting sun, with Jaxson, his roommate’s dog. —Suzy Flack, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2025

And in the section about how humans try to control water is information about environmentalism, creating shipping channels with rivers, engineering responses to historic floods, and the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, a massive water management project in the 1940s. —Debra Skodack, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing environmentalism

• anti-environmentalism

Rhymes for environmentalism

• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism
• anticommunism
• antisemitism
• antiterrorism
• bioterrorism
• colloquialism
• colonialism
• consequentialism
• contextualism
• conventionalism

Kids Definition

environmentalism

noun

en·​vi·​ron·​men·​tal·​ism -ˌvī-rən-ˈment-ᵊl-ˌi-zəm 

-ˌvī(-ə)rn-

: the act or process of preserving, restoring, or improving the natural environment

Medical Definition

environmentalism

noun

en·​vi·​ron·​men·​tal·​ism -ˌvī-rən-ˈment-ᵊl-ˌiz-əm, -ˌvī(-ə)rn- 

: a theory that views environment rather than heredity as the important factor in the development and especially the cultural and intellectual development of an individual or group