separatist

noun

sep·​a·​rat·​ist ˈse-p(ə-)rə-tist 

ˈse-pə-ˌrā-

: one that favors separatism: such as

a

capitalized : one of a group of 16th and 17th century English Protestants preferring to separate from rather than to reform the Church of England

b

: an advocate of independence or autonomy for a part of a political unit (such as a nation)

c

: an advocate of racial or cultural separation

separatist adjective

separatistic

ˌse-p(ə-)rə-ˈti-stik 

adjective

Examples of separatist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This past winter, the FBI unsealed an indictment accusing an Indian government employee of orchestrating a murder-for-hire assassination attempt of a Sikh separatist activist in New York City. —Sandhya Dirks, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has finally managed to clinch an agreement with a group of Catalan lawmakers to pass an amnesty for hundreds of separatists, ending more than six months negotiations that have paralyzed parliament. —Rodrigo Orihuela, Bloomberg.com, 14 Mar. 2024

But Russia, which was once closely allied with Armenia, has become increasingly friendly with Azerbaijan, essentially standing by as Azerbaijan took over full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under the control of Armenian separatists for more than three decades. —Ivan Nechepurenko Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024

Turkey had delayed its approval, demanding Sweden stop supporting Kurdish separatists Ankara views as terrorists. —Harold Maass, The Week Us, theweek, 24 Jan. 2024

The strife peaked in 1984 after Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a deadly siege on separatists occupying the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site in the Sikh religion, and a bullet pierced a copy of the Sikh holy book, considered to be an eternally living guru. —Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024

But with Punjabi Sikhs highly visible in the movement’s leadership, the government began cracking down on Sikh separatists soon after. —Suhasini Raj, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024

Chinese officials appear to be redoubling these efforts after Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party, a man Beijing considers a dangerous separatist, was elected the next president of Taiwan. —Vic Chiang, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

But in recent months, with tensions at perhaps an all-time high between Sikh separatists and the Hindu nationalist government of India, politics are hard to avoid. —Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing separatist

• anti-separatist

Kids Definition

separatist

noun

sep·​a·​rat·​ist ˈsep(-ə)-rət-əst 

: a person who favors separation (as from a church or party)

separatism

-rə-ˌtiz-əm

noun

separatist adjective