nationalist

1 of 2

noun

na·​tion·​al·​ist ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-list How to pronounce nationalist (audio)
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

nationalist

2 of 2

adjective

1
: of, relating to, or advocating nationalism
2
: of, relating to, or being a political group advocating or associated with nationalism

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
Putin attributed this to the unifying impact of the war, in comments that highlighted the benefit to the regime of an extended conflict and its mobilizing effect on hard-line nationalists. Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024 Leonid Slutsky is an extreme nationalist from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Kim Hjelmgaard and Anna Nemtsova, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024 The nationalists have also highlighted the fact that prominent US investment funds, including Vanguard and BlackRock, are major shareholders of Nongfu Spring. Laura He, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 The agreement has broken down in recent years as large groups of Jews, including hard-line religious nationalists, have regularly visited. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2024 Similarly, in many Muslim-majority countries, there was a tension between Islamists and nationalists. Ahmet T. Kuru, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024 For a time, this divide-and-conquer policy seemed to work well for Israel in Gaza, with clashes flaring between nationalists and Islamists in 1980. Jean-Pierre Filiu, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2024 Meanwhile, Muslim minorities are worried about their rights in several non-Muslim countries ruled by populist nationalists. Ahmet T. Kuru, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024 The Republika Srpska, led by a pugnacious Serb nationalist, Milorad Dodik, has repeatedly threatened to secede, a move that would risk setting off a new round of bloodshed. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Adjective
What may be construed as nationalist fervor is actually a need to survive and carry on their ancestral legacy. Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024 Defensive nationalist movements emerge when revolutionary changes in transportation and communications shorten time and reduce distance. TIME, 18 Mar. 2024 By doubling down on Christian nationalist rhetoric, the former president is borrowing from a long playbook of using religion to shape his own myth. Will Carless, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 Parliamentary elections last October ousted the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which had ruled for eight years, and put a centrist, pro-European coalition led by Donald Tusk in power. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 Delegates also use a system of proposals to publicly raise pet issues, with policy solutions ranging from practical ideas, such as reforms to parental leave or raising minimum wages for gig workers, to nationalist grandstanding over issues like cutting English lessons from the school curriculum. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 Today, however, religious and nationalist forces are often political allies. Ahmet T. Kuru, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024 The leader of Northern Ireland’s moderate nationalist SDLP party, Colum Eastwood, called on London to abandon its approach. Reuters, NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024 During this election campaign, Mr. Prabowo has dropped his doggedly nationalist and Islamist-ally personas. Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 16 Feb. 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.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nationalist was in 1775

Dictionary Entries Near nationalist

Cite this Entry

“Nationalist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nationalist. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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

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