centrists

plural of centrist
as in moderates
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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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 centrists Socialists want retribution after centrists sided with Republicans. Editorial Board, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2026 House Democratic leadership is vowing repercussions for two centrists who blindsided Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) by joining with Republicans on Tuesday to force a vote on condemning socialism. Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2026 There’s a debate among centrists who don’t like that this happened; how much did this weaken the Democratic Party? David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026 NPAs are hungry to elect centrists who believe that compromise is not a dirty word. Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2026 But those who stand outside of it—call them centrists, liberals, or traditional progressives—are undoubtedly the duller ones. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026 Both are moderates, and the race was not a proxy fight in the party’s deepening feud between progressives and centrists. Jonathan J. Cooper, Fortune, 23 July 2026 The centrists, meanwhile, will likely need her to hold the National Future at bay. Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2026 At the same time, centrists swung against a left that had indulged its purist tendencies. Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for centrists
moderates
Noun
  • Two new books argue that this is the wrong debate to be having, since swing voters, with all their idiosyncrasies, don’t see politics through a lens of moderates versus progressives.
    Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
  • But while anti-immigrant, pro-Russian parties have made inroads across the continent in recent years, there have also been notable reversals, and some have softened their views to build coalitions with moderates.
    ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

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“Centrists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/centrists. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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