as in rebels
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 secessionists
If nothing is done, the secessionists may achieve success simply for lack of opposition.
—
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
Analysts sympathetic to Riyadh say Saudi policy is to defend state sovereignty and regional order, accusing Abu Dhabi of empowering secessionists to maintain influence in failing states.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
Analysts sympathetic to Riyadh say Saudi policy is to defend state sovereignty and regional order, accusing Abu Dhabi of empowering secessionists to maintain influence in failing states.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secessionists
Noun
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Cuba’s nationalization wave began soon after Fidel Castro’s rebels took control of the island in 1959.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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Gangs, rebels, and soldiers started massacring elephants, sometimes from military helicopters.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Noun
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After Daft Punk’s rise from underground dance music heroes to chart-topping pop insurgents, Bangalter followed different muses in different directions.—
Andy Battaglia,
ARTnews.com,
8 June 2026
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That legacy includes crushing both hyperinflation and the Maoist insurgents of the Shining Path, who bathed Peru in blood in the 1980s and 1990s.—
Simeon Tegel,
NPR,
6 June 2026
Noun
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The actor got his start on Family Ties, an '80s sitcom about the Keaton family, whose matriarch and patriarch were once 1960s radicals now attempting to raise their Reagan-era children in suburbia.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
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Increasingly, however, that tent seems to have room for radicals and ideological extremists while pushing out Democrats who think independently.—
Doug Friednash,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The security situation in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has worsened recently, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by Islamic extremists.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
-
Increasingly, however, that tent seems to have room for radicals and ideological extremists while pushing out Democrats who think independently.—
Doug Friednash,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secessionists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secessionists. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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