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
Synonyms
Examples of pacifist in a Sentence
Adjective
the newspaper's editorial board has clearly staked out a pacifist position on the current conflict
Recent Examples on the WebKen Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
In the twenties and thirties, the Armistice became a frequent occasion for antiwar protests, by war widows, pacifists, and veterans who felt that the day’s rituals had become too martial and celebratory.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023
Grace Kelly portrait, circa 1950 After appearing as pacifist Amy Fowler Kane in 1952's High Noon, Kelly earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Mogambo, starring opposite Clark Gable.
—Erin Hill, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
Past detained people to receive the Nobel Peace Prize include German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky in 1935, Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, Chinese rights activist Liu Xiaobo in 2010 and one of last year’s winners, Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski.
—Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2023
Ramer, a redhead with a mustache, is descended from Mennonite pacifists on both sides of his family.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
But the woman behind the series, a Finnish-Swedish lesbian artist and ardent pacifist, who lived with her partner for half the year on an island, is far less well known.
—Nina Siegal, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2023
Released Monday, on the official 60th anniversary of the historic freedom march, the first look captures the passionate, profound and often tumultuous journey of one of the country’s most significant civil rights activists, socialists, pacifists, labor unionists and gay rights advocates.
—Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Aug. 2023
Rustin was also a pacifist, serving prison time after refusing to register for the draft.
—Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023
Sabiha Çimen, Harper's Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Her partner composes and plays Volga dub, a kind of Russian reggae—the soundtrack of the pacifist pirates of the river.
—Elettra Pauletto, Harper's Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
Six months later, the War Resisters League, a pacifist group that embraced nonviolence after World War II, took a chance on Rustin, disregarding the objections of executive committee member Muste, who felt betrayed by his mentee’s actions.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has backed the changes from the start, but its coalition partner, Komeito, a pacifist party wary of expanding Japan’s military might, for months resisted.
—Alex Horton, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
The centerpiece of that plan was a promise for an injection of 100 billion euros, or nearly $110 billion, and to raise military spending in a shift that amounted to an earthquake for a country that had developed an almost pacifist ethos since its terrible history in World War II.
—Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
Though Rustin increasingly prioritized his civil rights work, his commitment to pacifist resistance did not diminish.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
Every politician should listen, learn, and stop the liberal pacifist pretense.
—Armond White, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023
Partnered with James Farmer, the burgeoning activist traveled around the country to extoll the virtues of nonviolence and invigorate local branches of the pacifist organization.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
Noun
The ideological conflict between Xavier and Magneto has often been distilled down to one similar to that of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, with Xavier being a pacifist and Magneto being aggressive and dictatorial.
—Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
In the twenties and thirties, the Armistice became a frequent occasion for antiwar protests, by war widows, pacifists, and veterans who felt that the day’s rituals had become too martial and celebratory.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023
Grace Kelly portrait, circa 1950 After appearing as pacifist Amy Fowler Kane in 1952's High Noon, Kelly earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Mogambo, starring opposite Clark Gable.
—Erin Hill, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
Past detained people to receive the Nobel Peace Prize include German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky in 1935, Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, Chinese rights activist Liu Xiaobo in 2010 and one of last year’s winners, Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski.
—Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2023
Ramer, a redhead with a mustache, is descended from Mennonite pacifists on both sides of his family.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
But the woman behind the series, a Finnish-Swedish lesbian artist and ardent pacifist, who lived with her partner for half the year on an island, is far less well known.
—Nina Siegal, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2023
Released Monday, on the official 60th anniversary of the historic freedom march, the first look captures the passionate, profound and often tumultuous journey of one of the country’s most significant civil rights activists, socialists, pacifists, labor unionists and gay rights advocates.
—Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Aug. 2023
Rustin was also a pacifist, serving prison time after refusing to register for the draft.
—Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Based in part on the life of its screenwriter Mykola Voronin, Sniper tells the story of a pacifist physics teacher who becomes a sniper during the 2014 conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region, avenging the death of his pregnant wife.
—Sabiha Çimen, Harper's Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Her partner composes and plays Volga dub, a kind of Russian reggae—the soundtrack of the pacifist pirates of the river.
—Elettra Pauletto, Harper's Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023
Six months later, the War Resisters League, a pacifist group that embraced nonviolence after World War II, took a chance on Rustin, disregarding the objections of executive committee member Muste, who felt betrayed by his mentee’s actions.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has backed the changes from the start, but its coalition partner, Komeito, a pacifist party wary of expanding Japan’s military might, for months resisted.
—Alex Horton, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
The centerpiece of that plan was a promise for an injection of 100 billion euros, or nearly $110 billion, and to raise military spending in a shift that amounted to an earthquake for a country that had developed an almost pacifist ethos since its terrible history in World War II.
—Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
Though Rustin increasingly prioritized his civil rights work, his commitment to pacifist resistance did not diminish.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
Every politician should listen, learn, and stop the liberal pacifist pretense.
—Armond White, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023
Partnered with James Farmer, the burgeoning activist traveled around the country to extoll the virtues of nonviolence and invigorate local branches of the pacifist organization.
—Zachary Clary, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pacifist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near pacifist
Cite this Entry
“Pacifist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pacifist. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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