as in rebel
a person who thinks that a nation, state, etc., should separate from another and become independent
A growing group of secessionists are pushing for the independence of the region.
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Recent Examples of secessionist
The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation.
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CNN Money,
30 Dec. 2025
The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with ISIS or al Qaeda to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation.
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CBS News,
30 Dec. 2025
There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.
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Fortune,
26 Dec. 2025
The peace agreed to at Dayton left Bosnia, or Bosnia and Herzegovina as it is known in full, intact as a country but divided into two entities, Republika Srpska – a secessionist entity proclaimed by ethnonationalist Serbs in January 1992 – and the Bosnian Federation.
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Adis Maksić,
The Conversation,
19 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secessionist
CNN Money,
30 Dec. 2025
The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with ISIS or al Qaeda to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation.
—
CBS News,
30 Dec. 2025
There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.
—
Fortune,
26 Dec. 2025
The peace agreed to at Dayton left Bosnia, or Bosnia and Herzegovina as it is known in full, intact as a country but divided into two entities, Republika Srpska – a secessionist entity proclaimed by ethnonationalist Serbs in January 1992 – and the Bosnian Federation.
—
Adis Maksić,
The Conversation,
19 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secessionist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secessionist
Noun
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Gillespie also has a reputation for melding music to movies, as seen in Cruella, his 2021 movie that cast Disney villainess Cruella de Vil as a punk rock rebel in London’s fashion scene.
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The winner is the daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori, the former president whose government in the 1990s defeated the Shining Path extremist rebel group but also took an authoritarian turn.
Noun
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Iranian authorities, in turn, view armed Kurdish factions as separatist or terrorist threats, especially groups such as PJAK, which has clashed for years with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps along Iran’s western border.
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Christianity, then, is not a separatist, otherworldly faith.
Noun
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Gray is endorsed by Kansas City’s branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, and represents the insurgent left flank of the Democratic Party in the race.
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Out went what was left of country-club Republicanism; in came the Fifth Avenue insurgent and his MAGA hordes.
Noun
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More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were systematically massacred in the East African nation by Hutu extremists over roughly 100 days from April to July 1994.
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Opportunists like the daycare group, which was selling weapons, and extremists — not the hobbyists.
Cite this Entry
“Secessionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secessionist. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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