as in revolutionaries
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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Recent Examples of extremists
Violent extremists feasted on this great replacement propaganda, using it to justify terror attacks across the West.
—
Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Keep the pressure on every single one of these extremists.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
Yet Ali’s act does not only evoke terrorist incidents such as the Charlie Hebdo attack, perpetrated by Muslim extremists, just a few months prior to The Red Chador.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2026
In 2022, two officers were shot dead by Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.
—CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Otherwise extremists win and America will lose.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2026
The TikTok account had all the hallmarks associated with nihilistic violent extremists.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Maiduguri has been at the heart of deadly violence in Nigeria in the past, but has experienced relative peace in recent years, even as the countryside is often battered by extremists.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
—Dallas Morning News, 17 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Keep the pressure on every single one of these extremists.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
Yet Ali’s act does not only evoke terrorist incidents such as the Charlie Hebdo attack, perpetrated by Muslim extremists, just a few months prior to The Red Chador.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2026
In 2022, two officers were shot dead by Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.
—CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Otherwise extremists win and America will lose.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2026
The TikTok account had all the hallmarks associated with nihilistic violent extremists.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Maiduguri has been at the heart of deadly violence in Nigeria in the past, but has experienced relative peace in recent years, even as the countryside is often battered by extremists.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
—Dallas Morning News, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extremists
Noun
-
These works follow aging revolutionaries who have given up the fight after being forced into hiding or choosing to raise a family; some have simply grown tired of the struggle.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The idea that one generation could not determine the political future of the next was precisely what many revolutionaries, despite their internal differences, had fought against.—
Roxane Razavi,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For every cultural good, identity has become fused with the object of interest, turning previously normal people leading unremarkable lives into Steak ’n Shake beef-tallow purists, Harry Potter moralists, or cast-iron-pan-cleaning radicals.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Now some Republicans are depicting the No Kings movement as a band of radicals, out of step with mainstream political opinion.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extremists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extremists. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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