SEPARATIST Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

separatist 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of separatist

as in sectarian

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separatist

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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

From around 2013, Sahelian countries, including Mali and Niger, allowed military personnel from the United States, France and other Western countries to assist in efforts to counter jihadist and separatist movements throughout the region. — Kaitlyn Rabe, The Conversation, 16 June 2026 After the United States rejected (yet again) Vladimir Putin’s proposals for a new European security architecture in December 2021, and after the Ukrainian government ramped up its shelling of separatist forces, Putin responded by recognizing the breakaway republics in the Donbas. — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026

Noun

The attacks, which have been claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), followed last month's heavy assaults on the government by the group and a Tuareg separatist group, the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA. — ABC News, 7 May 2026 The Alberta separatist movement dates back decades, but has gained momentum in the past year, after the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, won Canada’s federal election. — Chantelle Lee, Time, 5 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for separatist

Recent Examples of Synonyms for separatist

Adjective

In the months after Assad’s fall in Syria, there were several eruptions of violence between groups loyal and opposed to al-Sharaa that spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks, in which Sunni Islamist fighters affiliated with the new government carried out attacks on Alawite and Druze civilians.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 June 2026
During the Biden administration, the DSA hemorrhaged members amid sectarian infighting, especially over Palestine.

— Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 June 2026

Definition of sectarian

Noun

This week on The Sunday Story, reporter Connor Towne O'Neill takes us inside the movement to split Illinois, and the challenges facing a modern secessionist movement in the land of Lincoln.

— NPR, NPR, 5 July 2026
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

Definition of secessionist

Adjective

The Vatican said the consecrations, carried out without the pope’s approval and therefore in conflict with Catholic law, constituted a schismatic act that severed the society’s communion with Rome.

— Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 6 July 2026
The highly organized religious extravaganza underscored the society’s international reach despite its schismatic outsider status, and appeal to conservative, traditionalist Catholics wary of the modern, secular world.

— Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Definition of schismatic

Noun

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.

— Reuters, NBC news, 1 July 2026
Opportunists like the daycare group, which was selling weapons, and extremists — not the hobbyists.

— Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2026

Definition of extremist

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“Separatist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/separatist. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of separatist

adjective

noun

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