pac·i·fist
ˈpa-sə-fist 
plural pacifists
: an adherent to pacifism : someone who opposes war or violence as a means of settling disputes
… the attack inflamed the American public and turned isolationists and pacifists into gung-ho patriots hot for revenge.—
Evan Thomas
Evan ThomasNot every woman will or should be a pacifist; and to advance in the Senate and into the White House, women will have to convince the voters that they're prepared to go to war.—Wendy Kaminer
Wendy Kaminer
variants
or pacifistic
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of pacifism or pacifists
distributing pacifist literature
2
: strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war
pacifist beliefs
Examples of pacifist in a Sentence
Noun
a committed pacifist, Gandhi succeeded in bringing about Indian independence using only nonviolence
Adjective
the newspaper's editorial board has clearly staked out a pacifist position on the current conflict
Recent Examples on the Web
Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
André Weil: Pacifist Border Crosser As geopolitical tensions increased worldwide in the 1930s, mathematician André Weil, a committed pacifist, sought to avoid French military service and emigrated to the U.S. Weil was on a research trip to Finland when World War II broke out in 1939.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2025
Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Beijing is likely to respond with diplomatic criticism and even economic coercion if Takaichi increases Tokyo’s support of Taiwan, counters China’s maritime expansionism, or manages to revise Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
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.
Noun
Every version of me is a pacifist.
—Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
André Weil: Pacifist Border Crosser As geopolitical tensions increased worldwide in the 1930s, mathematician André Weil, a committed pacifist, sought to avoid French military service and emigrated to the U.S. Weil was on a research trip to Finland when World War II broke out in 1939.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Takaichi aligns with the late former prime minister's push to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution and boost the country’s defense capabilities.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Beijing is likely to respond with diplomatic criticism and even economic coercion if Takaichi increases Tokyo’s support of Taiwan, counters China’s maritime expansionism, or manages to revise Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacifist
Cite this Entry
“Pacifist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pacifist. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share