as in conservatives
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 traditionalists
Many traditionalists do not believe biblical teachings allow for women to hold roles such as bishop.
—
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Country exists in two realities at once — the fiddles-and-steel-guitar traditionalists on one side and glossy crossovers on the other.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
For traditionalists like Coles, yachting means tailoring every element—menus, destinations, activities, even formality—to an owner or a charter guest, with the crew creating a familial experience usually limited to 12 passengers.
—Chrissie McClatchie, Robb Report, 27 Sep. 2025
In recent years there have been efforts to make the language more inclusive—for example, by adding an asterisk to the plural (Lehrer*innen) to include males, females, and those who identify as nonbinary—which have been opposed by traditionalists and far-right groups.
—Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025
Because love it or hate it — and all the doubles players who were cut out of the action and the purists and traditionalists really did hate it — this week, on these two days, and especially Wednesday night, this was a pretty big hit.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Optimists see faster, more consistent rulings; traditionalists fear a slippery slope toward outsourcing moral discernment.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2025
Wedged in the far southeastern corner of the bottom of the continent, between South Africa and Mozambique, Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa, a status that bewilders modernizers and beguiles traditionalists.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025
Tournaments relying on the human eye are not entirely immune to controversial calls, however, and the All England Club's move that comes after extensive testing last year is likely to only ruffle the feathers of the most staunch traditionalists.
—Shrivathsa Sridhar, Reuters, 27 June 2025
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Country exists in two realities at once — the fiddles-and-steel-guitar traditionalists on one side and glossy crossovers on the other.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
For traditionalists like Coles, yachting means tailoring every element—menus, destinations, activities, even formality—to an owner or a charter guest, with the crew creating a familial experience usually limited to 12 passengers.
—Chrissie McClatchie, Robb Report, 27 Sep. 2025
In recent years there have been efforts to make the language more inclusive—for example, by adding an asterisk to the plural (Lehrer*innen) to include males, females, and those who identify as nonbinary—which have been opposed by traditionalists and far-right groups.
—Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025
Because love it or hate it — and all the doubles players who were cut out of the action and the purists and traditionalists really did hate it — this week, on these two days, and especially Wednesday night, this was a pretty big hit.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Optimists see faster, more consistent rulings; traditionalists fear a slippery slope toward outsourcing moral discernment.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2025
Wedged in the far southeastern corner of the bottom of the continent, between South Africa and Mozambique, Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa, a status that bewilders modernizers and beguiles traditionalists.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025
Tournaments relying on the human eye are not entirely immune to controversial calls, however, and the All England Club's move that comes after extensive testing last year is likely to only ruffle the feathers of the most staunch traditionalists.
—Shrivathsa Sridhar, Reuters, 27 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traditionalists
conservatives
Noun
-
Whichever candidate is elected will also likely face opposition and infighting from within their own party, given the split between LDP conservatives and moderates, said Hall.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Dismantling federal agencies has long been a goal of many conservatives, who describe the federal bureaucracy as bloated and unaccountable.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Traditionalists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traditionalists. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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