extremist 1 of 2

as in radical
being very far from the center of public opinion their extremist views on religious issues set them apart from the rest of the community

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extremist

2 of 2

noun

as in revolutionary
a person who favors rapid and sweeping changes especially in laws and methods of government extremists wanted to do away with everything, even though they had no thought-out plan for what to do afterwards

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of extremist
Adjective
Jessica Chastain expressed her disappointment with Apple’s decision to postpone the release of her upcoming limited series The Savant — about an undercover investigator who goes after online extremist groups — in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025 Eight years later, Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people in two separate shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, after hereleased a more than 80-page manifesto filled with anti-Muslim, extremist language. Connor Greene, Time, 24 Sep. 2025 The country's dwindling Christian community has also felt the brunt of extremist violence. Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025 The Savant star took to Instagram to share her perspective on the network delaying the miniseries, which follows an investigator infiltrating domestic extremist groups, indefinitely. Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2025 More Sam Metz/AP Cat-and-Mouse with the Caliphate The use of emerging technologies has long been a key method employed by militant groups and other extremist organizations to win over new audiences and exploit gaps in awareness by both private and state institutions. Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 Right-wing extremist violence has been deadlier than left-wing violence in recent years. Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2025 The report added that Holly made posts on social media displaying his gear, which were decorated with extremist symbols and inspired by equipment used by previous mass shooters. Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
India has long accused Canada – home to one of the largest Sikh populations outside India – of harboring Sikh extremists. Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025 No Nigerian officials will willingly, deliberately indulge in the act of siding with violent extremists to target any particular religion in this country. Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025 But while many have claimed that there is a rise in violence from the left, research shows that right-wing extremists are behind more political violence. Solcyré Burga, Time, 2 Oct. 2025 Nor did Trump mention that attacks by right-wing extremists are more frequent and deadly. Laura Yuen, Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2025 In Bangladesh, the demise of Hasina’s regime has emboldened religious extremists. Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 Lone offenders, according to the document, remain the top threat, but there are also concerns about domestic extremists and foreign terror organizations. Luke Barr, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2025 Violence 'pales in comparison' to other extremists Antifa groups gained particular prominence following violent clashes between white supremacists and their opponents, including antifa activists, in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017. Josh Meyer, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025 Other recent studies have backed the conclusion that murders by far-right extremists are more frequent than those perpetrated by the left. Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extremist
Adjective
  • Showing Up’s potentially myopic perspective contrasts significantly from Reichardt’s Night Moves, a film about radical white environmental activists whose designs of blowing up a dam backfires, causing their inept leader Josh (Jesse Eisenberg) to erratically cover his tracks.
    Robert Daniels, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The audience is left with a wheel-spinning story about an anthropomorphized AI finding itself—and a slew of unanswered questions about the radical science on display.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Mexican actor plays revolutionaries in both season 2 of Star Wars series Andor and new movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The film features a story between a transgender character and a cisgender political revolutionary (played by Tonatiuh and Diego Luna) who are pulled from two separate worlds and are imprisoned in one cell.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The bank estimates that two-thirds of the population are living in extreme poverty — less than $3 a day.
    Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • The ocean anomaly has also been associated with extreme weather events, including droughts; warmer ocean temperatures can also generally help hurricanes develop more rapidly, and exacerbate fires, says Pastelok.
    Simmone Shah, Time, 8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The comebacks have been rabid and theatrical.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
  • That’s in character for rabid Philly fans, who once tossed snowballs at Santa Claus during a long-ago Eagles game.
    Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Extremist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extremist. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

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