as in conservative
a person whose political beliefs are centered on tradition and keeping things the way they are
a traditionalist who doesn't believe in expanding government
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Recent Examples of traditionalist
For traditionalists, there were still plenty of classic blue jean offerings from labels like Bally, Brunello Cucinelli, Etro, Canali and Zegna.
—
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 29 Jan. 2026
But today’s traditionalist poets, who accompanied the liberation parade from Idlib to the Umayyad capital, get off on the cognates of salvage and salvation and on the prefixes of survival and revival.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Banning the shift, introducing a pitch clock, adding a free runner in extra innings — all changes that the most entrenched traditionalists argued would materially alter the game.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
For decades, the presiding bishop was a member of Opus Dei, a traditionalist movement, founded in Spain in 1928, that has thrived in Latin America.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
This new Evangelicalism may be exemplified by Charlie Kirk, whose murder transformed the Turning Point head into an instant martyr and sparked calls for a traditionalist revival.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
When Meredith's fiancé (Dermot Mulroney) invites her to his eccentric family's Christmas gathering in New England, her traditionalist nature struggles to mesh with their laid-back, freethinking lifestyle.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Dec. 2025
Tradition Is King Southerners are notorious traditionalists.
—Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2025
Their music electrifies the youths and stirs the wrath of traditionalists, igniting a confrontation between modernity and superstition.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2025
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 29 Jan. 2026
But today’s traditionalist poets, who accompanied the liberation parade from Idlib to the Umayyad capital, get off on the cognates of salvage and salvation and on the prefixes of survival and revival.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Banning the shift, introducing a pitch clock, adding a free runner in extra innings — all changes that the most entrenched traditionalists argued would materially alter the game.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
For decades, the presiding bishop was a member of Opus Dei, a traditionalist movement, founded in Spain in 1928, that has thrived in Latin America.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
This new Evangelicalism may be exemplified by Charlie Kirk, whose murder transformed the Turning Point head into an instant martyr and sparked calls for a traditionalist revival.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
When Meredith's fiancé (Dermot Mulroney) invites her to his eccentric family's Christmas gathering in New England, her traditionalist nature struggles to mesh with their laid-back, freethinking lifestyle.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Dec. 2025
Tradition Is King Southerners are notorious traditionalists.
—Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2025
Their music electrifies the youths and stirs the wrath of traditionalists, igniting a confrontation between modernity and superstition.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traditionalist
conservative
Noun
-
Muntasir Rahman, an out gay LGBTQ-rights advocate, was removed from the NCP’s central committee after a backlash from party conservatives.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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To get foreign conservatives’ attention, the group targeted major right-wing shows to cast white South Africans’ situation as a grim parable.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Traditionalist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traditionalist. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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