nationalist

1 of 2

noun

na·​tion·​al·​ist ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-list 

plural nationalists

: an advocate of or believer in nationalism: such as

a

: a member of a political party or group advocating a government that is strongly committed to nationalism (see nationalism sense 1)

Nationalists in the United States and elsewhere advocate wide-ranging government control of the economy, most notably in the form of industrial policy, protectionism, and immigration restrictionism.

—Alex Nowrasteh and Ilya Somin

b

: a member of a political party or group advocating national independence

An independent Wales, nationalists point out, would still be larger than 39 other self-sufficient nations …

—Peter Stuart

nationalist

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or advocating nationalism

nationalist beliefs/ideologies/sentiments

After independence, nationalist fervor rejected compulsory English instruction in favor of the national language, Pilipino, which is based on Tagalog, a tongue spoken by the population around Manila.

—Edwin Kiester, Jr. and Sally Valente Kiester

2

or less commonly Nationalist : of or constituting a political group or party advocating or associated with nationalism

the group's nationalist agenda

… the strength of the Nationalist vote greatly inhibits the possibility of a majority Labour government …

—Brian Wilson

—often used in the capitalized names of specific groups

a member of the Irish Nationalist Party

Synonyms of nationalist

Noun

• patriot
• chauvinist

Adjective

• nationalistic
• patriotic

Examples of nationalist in a Sentence

Noun

a staunch nationalist who favored any policy that would give the country more power in the international arena

Adjective

The country's Nationalist Party won the election.

most of the articles on the website are nationalist propaganda and not objective by any means

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Of course, one point made in the song is that nearly every American has immigrants in the family tree, however much some nationalists may like to imagine a United States that began with certain demographics in place. — Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026

Scottish nationalists believe support for independence is rising Scotland tried unsuccessfully to break away in 2014, with voters rejecting a referendum 55% to 45%. — Brian Melley, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Adjective

Yabloko was struck off only days after being registered for the election after a pro-Kremlin nationalist party, Rodina (Motherland in Russian), brought a lawsuit against the party alleging foreign financing and copyright violations. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026

Motherland, a hard-line nationalist party, has repeatedly changed its structure and leadership since its start in the early 2000s. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1791, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing nationalist

• anti-nationalist
• black nationalist
• Christian nationalist
• white nationalist

Rhymes for nationalist

• rationalist
• internationalist

Kids Definition

nationalist

noun

na·​tion·​al·​ist

ˈnash-nəl-əst, 

-ən-ᵊl-əst

1

: a supporter of nationalism

2

: a member of a group promoting national independence

nationalist adjective

nationalistic

ˌnash-nəl-ˈis-tik, 

-ən-ᵊl-

adjective