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as in secessionist
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Recent Examples of separatist
Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026
Resource-rich Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest but least populated province — has long faced an insurgency by separatist groups as well as attacks by the Pakistani Taliban.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
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
Adjective
The separatist group Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, has claimed responsibility for the attack, but local authorities have not officially confirmed who is behind it, per Reuters and the Times.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026
Resource-rich Balochistan — Pakistan’s largest but least populated province — has long faced an insurgency by separatist groups as well as attacks by the Pakistani Taliban.
—ABC News, 13 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
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If Damascus interferes in Lebanon, sectarian violence could follow, as the Syrian military presence would likely be interpreted as direct opposition to Hezbollah’s Shiite fighters.—
Mireille Rebeiz,
The Conversation,
18 June 2026
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Lebanon is a multi-sectarian society with over a dozen ethnic and religious minority groups, including one of the region’s largest Christian populations.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Separatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/separatist. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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