as in moderate
avoiding major social change or extreme political ideas
several centrist candidates were elected, apparently in a reaction against the extremists
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in middle-of-the-roader
a person who holds moderate views
the centrists will most likely rally behind the candidate who favors reforming the government program—not abolishing it entirely
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of centrist
ABC News, 28 May 2026
These voters must consider that whoever gets the nomination will face Democrat James Talarico, a centrist Presbyterian state lawmaker with a rising national profile.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 25 May 2026
Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 7 May 2026
In reality, their centrist pandering to Republican colleagues in the Senate is deeply unpopular.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for centrist
Adjective
The parliament, or Saeima, approved the four-party coalition under new Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the centrist United List party, which was previously in opposition, the LETA news agency reported.
—ABC News, 28 May 2026
These voters must consider that whoever gets the nomination will face Democrat James Talarico, a centrist Presbyterian state lawmaker with a rising national profile.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 25 May 2026
Noun
Collins, a centrist Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, presents her nearly three-decade, five-term Senate career as results-driven.
—Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 7 May 2026
In reality, their centrist pandering to Republican colleagues in the Senate is deeply unpopular.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for centrist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for centrist
Adjective
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Homeowners in moderate coastal climates and the lower Midwest might be growing cool-season or warm-season grass.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 June 2026
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There is a moderate risk of rip currents at area beaches.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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For Ginsberg, ever-attuned to the rhythmic physicality of verse, the central atom of poetry wasn’t the line or the foot, but rather the breath, emphasizing that his were longer than his free verse hero Whitman because the good, grey poet probably had smaller lungs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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According to the sign on the set before the curtain rises, the population of Jerome, an actual former copper-mining town in central Arizona, has evaporated, giving it ghost status.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Centrist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/centrist. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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