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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
The historically Black church that Lamar leads this year was awarded control of the trademark for the name and logos of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist hate group, that was convicted of vandalizing the church in 2020.
—Mara Williams, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025
The interview between Fuentes and Carlson drew widespread backlash for giving a platform to extremist views.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Publications that had previously dedicated resources to writing about extremist political movements, like BuzzFeed News, Vice, The Daily Beast, and others, have since cut back or (in BuzzFeed’s case) stopped doing news altogether.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
That could have drastic consequences as bad actors use it to enact hateful stereotypes and push extremist propaganda.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
That also applies to the current de facto annexation being carried out by radical settlers and extremist ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
Authorities said he had been radicalized online by watching violent and extremist videos.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2025
Guns make political violence easier by erasing the distance between extremist ideas and lethal action.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
The pitch helped the Democratic nominee withstand Earle-Sears’ attacks on cultural issues, notably the Republican’s assertion that Spanberger is an extremist on transgender rights.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
The message referenced the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was killed by Islamic extremists in 2004 after releasing a short film critical of Islam.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
Boko Haram extremists have battled against the government in Abuja in their mission to establish an Islamic state.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Claims that Christians are being disproportionately targeted by extremists in Nigeria are not supported by what little data is available.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
In September, independent journalist Jason Paladino wrote that the Department of Justice appeared to have removed a study that found far-right extremists to be responsible for the most lethal terrorism since 1990.
—NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
Far too many school boards are being overtaken by far-right extremists determined to distort our public education system and target LGBTQ+ youth.
—Chris Ward, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2025
Extremist or hate group recruitment Alarmingly, violent extremists are taking advantage of open platforms like Discord, using it as a recruiting ground for vulnerable and unsuspecting users.
—Alex Vance, Parents, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Security analyst Nnamdi Obasi, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group think tank, explained that while extremist groups have wreaked havoc against both Christians and Muslims in the northeast of Nigeria, bandit groups have terrorized predominantly Muslim communities in the northwest.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
The historically Black church that Lamar leads this year was awarded control of the trademark for the name and logos of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist hate group, that was convicted of vandalizing the church in 2020.
—Mara Williams, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025
The interview between Fuentes and Carlson drew widespread backlash for giving a platform to extremist views.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Publications that had previously dedicated resources to writing about extremist political movements, like BuzzFeed News, Vice, The Daily Beast, and others, have since cut back or (in BuzzFeed’s case) stopped doing news altogether.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
That could have drastic consequences as bad actors use it to enact hateful stereotypes and push extremist propaganda.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
That also applies to the current de facto annexation being carried out by radical settlers and extremist ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
Authorities said he had been radicalized online by watching violent and extremist videos.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2025
Guns make political violence easier by erasing the distance between extremist ideas and lethal action.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
Musk’s incendiary political rhetoric and endorsement of AfD, Germany’s extremist, anti-immigrant party, have weighed on left-leaning consumers’ interest in the Tesla brand there.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
The pitch helped the Democratic nominee withstand Earle-Sears’ attacks on cultural issues, notably the Republican’s assertion that Spanberger is an extremist on transgender rights.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
The message referenced the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was killed by Islamic extremists in 2004 after releasing a short film critical of Islam.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
Boko Haram extremists have battled against the government in Abuja in their mission to establish an Islamic state.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Claims that Christians are being disproportionately targeted by extremists in Nigeria are not supported by what little data is available.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
In September, independent journalist Jason Paladino wrote that the Department of Justice appeared to have removed a study that found far-right extremists to be responsible for the most lethal terrorism since 1990.
—NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
Far too many school boards are being overtaken by far-right extremists determined to distort our public education system and target LGBTQ+ youth.
—Chris Ward, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2025
Extremist or hate group recruitment Alarmingly, violent extremists are taking advantage of open platforms like Discord, using it as a recruiting ground for vulnerable and unsuspecting users.
—Alex Vance, Parents, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extremist
Adjective
-
Somehow, in honoring the group’s women, from the rageful housewife Margie (Betsy Aidem) to the radical author Celeste (Kristolyn Lloyd), Flood’s outpouring becomes a lament.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Her work has been featured in retreats, leadership circles, and coaching programs, where she is celebrated for her emotional depth and ability to catalyze radical transformation.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Each robot, remotely operated, clinks glasses and gestures in unison, embodying the camaraderie and hope of the musical’s revolutionaries.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Paul’s youth and vigor comes with lots of risk, the work of prior revolutionaries threatened to be set back many years.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The research team claims that their strategy offers a novel approach to developing high-performance cathodes capable of operating under extreme temperatures.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The scale runs from G1, minor, to G5, extreme.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Despite three tumultuous relocations in the past half-century, most recently a defection to Sin City five years ago, the Raiders still have a rabid fan base — at Allegiant, every game day is Halloween — and the natives and transplants (including 62,080 attendees Sunday) are getting restless.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The show then unravels like a circus, hopping with rabid animals when real demons from the underworld steal the spotlight, feeding off the rising live-stream viewer count.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extremist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extremist. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share