as in conservative
a person whose political beliefs are centered on tradition and keeping things the way they are
rightists opposed the new social programs
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as in reactionary
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Recent Examples of rightist
semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Historians have pointed to Hodge’s early support of reactionary rightists, including industrialists, landlords, and businessmen—people who were associated with Japanese rule.
—Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
Earlier this month, Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced the rightist Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup following his 2023 election loss.
—semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Historians have pointed to Hodge’s early support of reactionary rightists, including industrialists, landlords, and businessmen—people who were associated with Japanese rule.
—Kornel Chang
september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rightist
Noun
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House conservatives had expressed opposition to earmarks within the package.—
Kaia Hubbard,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Meghan McCain, a conservative who left the program in 2021, has regularly targeted her former workplace on her own podcast.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Most parents’ responses are reactionary in nature.—
Michelle Fay Cortez,
Bloomberg,
5 Jan. 2026
-
What’s up with reactionary old French screen legends?—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Beyond the outright annihilation of people and the considerable trauma that brought onto people, leftist regimes inflicted considerable misery in myriad other ways.—
Sal Rodriguez,
Oc Register,
7 Nov. 2025
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Critiques from the American right, which lament the film’s timely depictions of a police state, immigrant internment camps and leftist revolt, read like ChatGPT essays programmed to write in the voice of Karen.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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There was excessive growth of microtubules that wasn’t caused by an increase in gene activity, but likely due to the cells failing to clear away old or misfolded proteins.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Nov. 2025
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But Walpole’s excitement was curbed when they were flagged for excessive celebration.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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It was widely attributed to the same extremist collective, though not claimed explicitly by the Vulkangruppe.—
Anna Noryskiewicz,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
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Local officials have attributed the power outage to an arson attack from The Vulkangruppe (The Volcano Group), a left-wing extremist group.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But Jennings' liberal attitude toward the airing of his opinions, regardless of their content, almost cost him the job.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
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But in years since, the district has grown more liberal.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rightist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rightist. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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