Synonyms of extremist

extremist 1 of 2

adjective

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

• radical
• extreme
• rabid
• revolutionary
• fanatic
• ultra
• violent
• revolutionist
• subversive
• reactionary
• wild

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conservative
• moderate
• traditional
• conventional
• middle-of-the-road
• liberal
• temperate
• orthodox
• unrevolutionary
• nonrevolutionary
• progressive

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• revolutionary
• radical
• rebel
• revolutionist
• anarchist
• leftist
• crazy
• insurgent
• reformer
• reformist
• lefty
• separatist
• progressive
• agitator
• red
• insurrectionist
• separationist
• secessionist
• subversive
• young Turk
• anarch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• moderate
• conservative
• Tory
• rightist
• reactionary
• traditionalist
• middle-of-the-roader
• fuddy-duddy
• standpatter

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of extremist

Adjective

Both nominees have attempted to portray themselves as the commonsense alternative to an extremist opponent whose agenda could set the state back decades. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026

Rabin was killed [in 1995], that was a last straw —seeing an extremist right-wing lunatic in Israel kill Rabin and kill the dreams of peace. — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026

In 2018, Steve Bannon sent a message to Jeffrey Epstein, preserved in the Justice Department’s cache of Epstein files, suggesting that the success of extremist European political parties would make life easier for the cryptocurrency industry. — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026

Several families have long alleged that a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia gained influence in the Saudi government and aided the hijackers. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026

Yet, today, the State Department lists five times as many groups with extremist ideologies, as were designated in 2001, Hoffman noted. — Robin Wright, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026

Almost 3,000 victims would die in the orchestrated airborne homeland attacks by extremist group al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden. — Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026

Over the summer, Europol ran a campaign to target nihilistic violent extremist content online. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 9 Sep. 2026

No political motive was given for his rampage, according to an EU document on the emerging threat of nihilistic extremist violence. — Lorne Cook, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Noun

The caption on the video claims that a group of Muslim extremists kidnapped and beheaded a Christian man for refusing to convert to Islam. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026

Dictators chose repression, extremists chose violence, and regional powers pursued their interests. — Ayman M. Mohyeldin, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026

Unlike 25 years ago — when extremists, mostly from Saudi Arabia, entered the United States and trained to become deadly pilots — the terror threat facing Europe today is mostly organized online. — Lorne Cook, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks, including the 19 hijackers from the Islamist extremist group al-Qaida. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

Studying extremists These two cases force researchers to grapple with how knowledge about violent movements is actually produced. — Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026

But the settler violence has shown itself to be more widespread than a small band of extremists. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

In a Michigan swing district just north of Detroit, Democratic congressional candidate Christina Hines said voters are far more worried about affording fuel, groceries and healthcare than about left-wing extremists gaining ground in her party. — Steve Peoples, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in a campaign of mass murder orchestrated by Hutu extremists. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026