FLAG-WAVER Synonyms: 11 Similar and Opposite Words

flag-waver

noun

ˈflag-ˌwā-vər

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of flag-waver 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

Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi, who lived in Philadelphia’s suburbs, drove to New York City on Saturday and joined a throng of counter protesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by the far-right Christian nationalist Jake Lang.

— ABC News, ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
From late Qing reformers inspired by Athenian citizenship to nationalists who draw on Plato to bolster China’s political ideology, Bartsch shows how supple ancient texts are in the hands of interpreters.

— Chang Che, New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2026