separatist 1 of 2

Definition of separatistnext

separatist

2 of 2

noun

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 separatist
Adjective
For example, the Kazakh state does not recognize the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026 This week, the separatist group Stay Free Alberta submitted a petition for a referendum on the issue that had amassed 302,000 signatures – well ahead of the 178,000 (10% of eligible voters) required for the authorities to consider such a vote. Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 7 May 2026
Noun
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad separatist movement, said in a post on Facebook that its forces had taken control of Kidal and some areas in Gao, another northeastern city. Mark Banchereau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026 Xi’s outreach to Cheng came along with overt swipes at Taiwan’s current government under President Lai Ching-te, who is shunned by Beijing as a dangerous ‘separatist’ for rejecting China’s claim that Taiwan is its territory. Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for separatist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for separatist
Adjective
  • The risk in the Gulf is that the messaging surrounding police raids revives exclusionary language that governments have spent years trying to suppress, and that remains common in the sectarian politics of Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.
    Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 15 June 2026
  • Lebanon’s fractured system of government makes those fears of civil war or sectarian strife more potent.
    Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 June 2026
Noun
  • However, various secessionist movements waxed and waned during the period between independence and the Civil War.
    Scott Spires Britannica Editors June 3, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 June 2026
  • During the Civil War, Southern California had its own pro-Confederacy secessionist militia, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles.
    Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Given that Pakistan is home to over 20 million Shia Muslims—the second largest cohort in the world after Iran—open warfare with the only nation with more would be schismatic internally.
    Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Such was the case this past weekend, when tens of millions of fans keyed in on the denouement of the college basketball season at the expense of lesser spectacles such as spring football and one notoriously schismatic pro golf startup.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.
    James Pollard, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
  • Also on Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel warned that the World Cup matches could be targets for extremists.
    ABC News, ABC News, 11 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Separatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/separatist. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.

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