pac·i·fist
ˈpa-sə-fist 
plural pacifists
: an adherent to pacifism : someone who opposes war or violence as a means of settling disputes
… the attack inflamed the American public and turned isolationists and pacifists into gung-ho patriots hot for revenge.—
Evan Thomas
Evan ThomasNot every woman will or should be a pacifist; and to advance in the Senate and into the White House, women will have to convince the voters that they're prepared to go to war.—Wendy Kaminer
Wendy Kaminer
variants
or pacifistic
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of pacifism or pacifists
distributing pacifist literature
2
: strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war
pacifist beliefs
Examples of pacifist in a Sentence
Noun
a committed pacifist, Gandhi succeeded in bringing about Indian independence using only nonviolence
Adjective
the newspaper's editorial board has clearly staked out a pacifist position on the current conflict
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
American pacifists and civil rights activists A. J. Muste and Bayard Rustin were part of that group.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 2 June 2025
Kaori Kaneko, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
The Brotherhood bears some resemblance to the Bruderhof, a tiny Christian pacifist sect founded in Germany in the nineteen-twenties that left its country of origin and spread around the globe in response to Nazi Fascism.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The Brotherhood bears some resemblance to the Bruderhof, a tiny Christian pacifist sect founded in Germany in the nineteen-twenties that left its country of origin and spread around the globe in response to Nazi Fascism.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
American pacifists and civil rights activists A. J. Muste and Bayard Rustin were part of that group.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 2 June 2025
Adjective
Known for conservative positions such as revising the pacifist constitution, Takaichi is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine to honour Japan's war dead, viewed by Beijing and others as a symbol of past militarism.
—Kaori Kaneko, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
The Brotherhood bears some resemblance to the Bruderhof, a tiny Christian pacifist sect founded in Germany in the nineteen-twenties that left its country of origin and spread around the globe in response to Nazi Fascism.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
Cite this Entry
“Pacifist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pacifist. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share