as in dove
a person who opposes war or warlike policies
a committed pacifist, Gandhi succeeded in bringing about Indian independence using only nonviolence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or pacifistic
as in neutral
inclined to live in peace and to avoid war
the newspaper's editorial board has clearly staked out a pacifist position on the current conflict
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pacifist
Iveta Silova, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2025
Marchand has crossed lines by licking players, or repeatedly punching a hockey pacifist like Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin in a final series.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2025
Japan’s pacifist constitution restricts it from exporting weapons—but in 2024 Tokyo loosened arms export controls to enable it to boost sales abroad.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
Noun
Even before seizing national power in 1933, the Nazi Party was closely monitoring German universities through nationalist student groups and sympathetic faculty, flagging professors deemed politically unreliable – particularly Jews, Marxists, liberals and pacifists.
—Iveta Silova, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2025
Marchand has crossed lines by licking players, or repeatedly punching a hockey pacifist like Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin in a final series.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
In this aching, unorthodox historical drama, Davies tells the story of the pacifist poet and veteran Siegfried Sassoon, whose experiences fighting in the First World War forever transformed him.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2025
Japan’s pacifist constitution restricts it from exporting weapons—but in 2024 Tokyo loosened arms export controls to enable it to boost sales abroad.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pacifist
Noun
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This low-to-the-ground platform feeder is designed with ground feeders in mind, so it’s known to attract ground-feeding birds like doves as well as bunnies, chipmunks, and squirrels.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Sep. 2025
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The supermodel Karolina Kourkova made a rare catwalk comeback in a satin robin’s egg blue cocoon coat worn over a trumpet dress in dove gray.—
Blue Carreon,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The federal probation department, considered a more neutral arbiter, recommended a sentence of 70 to 87 months in prison.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
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The National Alliance to End Homelessness took a neutral position on the bill.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Following the release, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence and disarmament would receive amnesty, with safe passage offered to those wishing to leave Gaza for countries that have agreed to receive them.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its peaceful neighbor in 2022, zoo workers and local volunteers rushed to save thousands of animals at imminent risk of annihilation from missile attacks and shelling.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, as believing Christians, Jews, or Muslims know, the founders and leaders of these major world religions advocate understanding of others, empathy for their suffering, and the pursuit of peaceable relations with all.—
Howard Steele,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
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Such was the peaceable dreaming, the end-of-history thinking, in the wake of the Twelve-Day War.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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Courtesy: Apple Apple on Tuesday sent invites to the media and analysts for a launch event at its campus on September 9 at 10 A.M pacific time.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
26 Aug. 2025
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My late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, served in the pacific campaign.—
Simon Perry,
People.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pacifist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pacifist. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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