nativist 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of nativistnext
as in nativistic

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nativist

2 of 2

noun

as in nationalist

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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 nativist
Adjective
At large right-wing events, young conservatives have consistently espoused a deeply nativist strain of politics, and expressed their fandom of Fuentes and his politics. — Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026 Not that extricating supply chains from China is sufficient in today’s nativist political climate. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 18 Aug. 2026 The sociologist Brian Donovan, in a book on the subject, describes how the hysteria over white slavery served at once as a progressive campaign against prostitution and as a vindication of nativist fear. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has taken unfair flak from nativist elements of the MAGA base. — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2026 The tension between the need for new workers and resurgent nativist politics will influence who comes, who settles and who is counted among the ancestors of future generations. — Albert Sun, New York Times, 2 July 2026 Driven by the same nativist and xenophobic ideas, the United States adopted the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924, which ended mass immigration by introducing national-origin quotas designed to favor Northern and Western Europeans and exclude nonwhite immigrants almost entirely. — M. Gessen, Mercury News, 11 June 2026 Was this restrictive definition not akin to the nativist rhetoric coming from the right? — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 10 June 2026 Today, not only are these conditions under assault by a kleptocratic, nativist US federal government, but the clock seems also to be running out on their own internal contradictions. — Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Noun
This undiplomatic tirade went over well in the White House, but marked him as a belligerent nativist abroad and something of an isolationist at home. — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nativist
  1. xenophobic
  2. nationalist
  3. anti-immigrant
  4. chauvinist
  5. patriotic
Adjective
  • Foreigners have also experienced sporadic outbursts of xenophobic violence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Both need a robust GOP turnout to win in November and neither wants to risk alienating too many within the party’s xenophobic, anti-immigrant wing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of xenophobic
Noun
  • Though the two nations have been separate and independent since the 19th century, Dominican nationalists often foreground a 22-year period from 1822 to 1844 when Haitian troops occupied the Dominican Republic.
    — Kendall Medford, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
  • An investigation into the apocalyptic thinking of Christian nationalists, tech-bro reactionaries and populist survivalists.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of nationalist
Adjective
  • The vigilante tradition in American culture In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, vigilantism was closely associated with anti-immigrant and anti-Black violence, most notoriously through lynching.
    — Daniel LaChance, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Both need a robust GOP turnout to win in November and neither wants to risk alienating too many within the party’s xenophobic, anti-immigrant wing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of anti-immigrant
Noun
  • There really are chauvinists out there.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026
  • Sacco knows better than most that political chauvinists of all kinds can point to past moments of injury and humiliation to justify any current cruelty or authoritarian project—an especially powerful appeal when those historical injustices are real.
    — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Definition of chauvinist
Adjective
  • Maybe Canada doesn’t need another billion-dollar weapons system – just a few more hockey sticks and a good dose of patriotic mischief.
    — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top.
    — Quil Lawrence, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of patriotic

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Cite this Entry

“Nativist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nativist. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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