na·tion·al·ist
ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-list 
plural nationalists
1
: an advocate of or believer in nationalism
2
: a member of a political party or group advocating national independence or strong national government
compare black nationalist, white nationalist
1
: of, relating to, or advocating nationalism
2
: of, relating to, or being a political group advocating or associated with nationalism
Synonyms
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
Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Things like terrorism, things like the January 6th insurrection, which had a lot of Christian nationalists at it.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
Christian nationalists proffer that the U.S. has been and always should be Christian, from the top to the people, according to the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
—Lourdes Hurtado, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2024
The illiberal Hungarian prime minister is the bete noire of the European Union, a beloved hero to a major segment of the U.S. right and most vocal statesman among nationalists in the West.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
As the Syrian regime and its opponents were joined on the battlefield by jihadist groups and Kurdish nationalists, the opposition itself fragmented, and foreign patrons grew more influential.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Republican Irish nationalists, campaigning to split from the UK, generally sympathized with Palestinians.
—Eoin McSweeney, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Christian nationalists believe broadly in the orthodox and theological beliefs of Christianity, Whitehead said.
—Will Carless, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
In countries like Hungary, nationalists, warning that their own people risk fading away and being replaced by outsiders, have fulminated against immigrants, despite severe labor shortages.
—Andrew Higgins Vladimir Zivojinovic, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The North and its insurgent forces scattered throughout the South sought to bring about a nationalist revolution, and succeeded.
—Nick Hilden, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
At the center of the contest is incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who first rose to power in 2014 on the promise of economic reform and a Hindu nationalist mandate.
—Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Patrick, who regularly hears from hundreds of officials in states across the country in her position as head of the biggest election official union, also tells WIRED that the disinformation and threats her members are now hearing feature a Christian nationalist flavor.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
Israeli police begin to take their positions in front of the mosque and around the Dome of the Rock, in preparation for the arrival of dozens of nationalist and religious Israeli Jews.
—Fatma Tanis, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
Yet a nationalist foreign policy does not always serve the national interest.
—Rohan Mukherjee, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2024
Voters are set to decide whether to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rule the country for a third term, or to deal his Hindu nationalist political project an unlikely defeat.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
Related article Historic day in Northern Ireland as Michelle O’Neill becomes first nationalist leader
UK and Irish media have reported that the police charges relate to Donaldson.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
Its efforts have been thwarted by an online army of Chinese nationalists who want to punish leading business figures.
—Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Things like terrorism, things like the January 6th insurrection, which had a lot of Christian nationalists at it.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
Christian nationalists proffer that the U.S. has been and always should be Christian, from the top to the people, according to the group Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
—Lourdes Hurtado, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2024
The illiberal Hungarian prime minister is the bete noire of the European Union, a beloved hero to a major segment of the U.S. right and most vocal statesman among nationalists in the West.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
As the Syrian regime and its opponents were joined on the battlefield by jihadist groups and Kurdish nationalists, the opposition itself fragmented, and foreign patrons grew more influential.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Republican Irish nationalists, campaigning to split from the UK, generally sympathized with Palestinians.
—Eoin McSweeney, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Christian nationalists believe broadly in the orthodox and theological beliefs of Christianity, Whitehead said.
—Will Carless, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
In countries like Hungary, nationalists, warning that their own people risk fading away and being replaced by outsiders, have fulminated against immigrants, despite severe labor shortages.
—Andrew Higgins Vladimir Zivojinovic, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The temple, named the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, is believed by some Hindus to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, and was a cornerstone of Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist agenda.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The North and its insurgent forces scattered throughout the South sought to bring about a nationalist revolution, and succeeded.
—Nick Hilden, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
At the center of the contest is incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who first rose to power in 2014 on the promise of economic reform and a Hindu nationalist mandate.
—Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Patrick, who regularly hears from hundreds of officials in states across the country in her position as head of the biggest election official union, also tells WIRED that the disinformation and threats her members are now hearing feature a Christian nationalist flavor.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
Israeli police begin to take their positions in front of the mosque and around the Dome of the Rock, in preparation for the arrival of dozens of nationalist and religious Israeli Jews.
—Fatma Tanis, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
Yet a nationalist foreign policy does not always serve the national interest.
—Rohan Mukherjee, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2024
Voters are set to decide whether to return Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rule the country for a third term, or to deal his Hindu nationalist political project an unlikely defeat.
—Billy Perrigo, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
Related article Historic day in Northern Ireland as Michelle O’Neill becomes first nationalist leader
UK and Irish media have reported that the police charges relate to Donaldson.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nationalist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near nationalist
Cite this Entry
“Nationalist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nationalist. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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