environmentalist

noun en·vi·ron·men·tal·ist \ in-ˌvī-rə(n)-ˈmen-tə-ləst , -ˌvī(-ə)r(n)- \

Definition of environmentalist

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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Recent Examples of environmentalist from the Web

Despite the increase in production, the energy companies that drill the wells to produce the gas complain they’ve been bogged down by a thicket of political and regulatory hurdles, as well as opposition from environmentalists and some landowners.

— tim loh, Bloomberg.com, "Get Ready for an Appalachian Gas Bonanza," 3 Nov. 2017
To argue against the move, environmentalists have been appealing to unlikely allies: fiscal hawks in Congress.

— author: jennifer a. dlouhy, alex nussbaum, Alaska Dispatch News, "Drive for ANWR oil bonanza could prove to be a bust for the Republicans’ budget," 31 Oct. 2017
Drilling advocates argue that oil and gas extraction can be done safely, while environmentalists are quick to point out that accidents are possible and have happened on more than one occasion.

— National Geographic, "Stunning Photos Show the Alaska Refuge Under Threat," 18 Oct. 2017
Such views are driven in part by long-simmering hostility toward the federal government and environmentalists.

— christa case bryant, The Christian Science Monitor, "In Utah, major forest fire fuels push for state, not federal control," 13 Oct. 2017
Limited hunting and shooting is already allowed at some monuments, but the new plan seeks to open monuments that have previously banned those activities, a step that drew criticism from environmentalists and praise from hunters.

— jim carlton, WSJ, "Trump Administration to Expand Hunting at National Monuments," 15 Sep. 2017
The city will assemble a group — made up of workers, environmentalists, business people, utility representatives and others — to draw up a plan by December 2018 for reaching the benchmark.

— james rainey, NBC News, "St. Louis, Long a Coal Capital, Votes to Get All of Its Power From Clean Sources," 27 Oct. 2017
Kara Cook-Schultz, who studies Superfund sites for the advocacy group TexPIRG, said environmentalists have warned for years about the potential for flooding to inundate Texas Superfund sites, particularly the San Jacinto Waste Pits.

— CBS News, "AP: Toxic waste sites flooded in Houston area," 2 Sep. 2017
But environmentalists say opening the door to metallic mining would threaten state water resources.

— patrick marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin Assembly taking up bill clearing the way to more mineral mining," 2 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'environmentalist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of environmentalist

1902

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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