as in nationalist
one who shows excessive favoritism towards his or her country
a newspaper columnist who never manages to be anything other than a knee-jerk flag-waver
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Recent Examples of flag-waver
Traditional Italian dance of the flag-wavers Sbandieratori doing stunts throwing their colorful flags in the air.
—
Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Onstage at this month’s AmericaFest, the annual conference hosted by Kirk’s organization Turning Point, Aldean and his wife, Brittany, spoke openly about their role as country-music flag-wavers for the MAGA movement.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
For those two groups to get in not just over Carey and O’Connor, but more traditional rock and roll flag-wavers like Oasis and Lenny Kravitz, is also something of a shock.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Onstage at this month’s AmericaFest, the annual conference hosted by Kirk’s organization Turning Point, Aldean and his wife, Brittany, spoke openly about their role as country-music flag-wavers for the MAGA movement.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
For those two groups to get in not just over Carey and O’Connor, but more traditional rock and roll flag-wavers like Oasis and Lenny Kravitz, is also something of a shock.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flag-waver
nationalist
Noun
-
Two of its most high-profile residents have been described as Christian nationalists in local media.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Wilson, its most prominent leader, identifies as a Christian nationalist and preached at the Pentagon in February at Hegseth’s invitation.—
Tiffany Stanley,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flag-waver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flag-waver. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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