as in patriots
one who shows excessive favoritism towards his or her country
a staunch nationalist who favored any policy that would give the country more power in the international arena
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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 nationalists
Though the Cuban nationalists’ victory was all but assured, the United States entered the fray and swiftly imposed a military occupation over the island.
—
Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
In the mid-1930s, the Spanish Civil War between the fascist forces of Franco and the nationalists was a harbinger that a second general European war lay just over the horizon.
—Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
French conservatives longed for the ancien régime of church and monarchy, German nationalists for a community rooted in native soil.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Cosmopolitan progressives and conservative nationalists are at each other’s throats, including over the very meaning of the West.
—Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
On the left were environmentalists who wanted to leave carbon in the ground; on the right, MAGA nationalists who were dismantling wind farms and carrying out mass deportations.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025
But Hisahito’s birth quickly changed the tide and nationalists turned against the proposal.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
By the time that war in East Asia took hold, in 1937, China was a decade into its own civil war between the nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s communists.
—Meredith Oyen, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025
Jane’s fiercely unforgiving tone was adopted by militant Irish nationalists for whom the famine stood as the ultimate proof of English perfidy.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025
In the mid-1930s, the Spanish Civil War between the fascist forces of Franco and the nationalists was a harbinger that a second general European war lay just over the horizon.
—Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
French conservatives longed for the ancien régime of church and monarchy, German nationalists for a community rooted in native soil.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Cosmopolitan progressives and conservative nationalists are at each other’s throats, including over the very meaning of the West.
—Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
On the left were environmentalists who wanted to leave carbon in the ground; on the right, MAGA nationalists who were dismantling wind farms and carrying out mass deportations.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025
But Hisahito’s birth quickly changed the tide and nationalists turned against the proposal.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
By the time that war in East Asia took hold, in 1937, China was a decade into its own civil war between the nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s communists.
—Meredith Oyen, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025
Jane’s fiercely unforgiving tone was adopted by militant Irish nationalists for whom the famine stood as the ultimate proof of English perfidy.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nationalists
Noun
-
Another man, older by six years, argued with fellow patriots in a Hong Kong café.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Many Israeli patriots are in exactly that position.—
Ehud Barak,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In the weeks that followed, the secretary also removed every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with a merry band of loyalists and skeptics.—
Eli Cahan,
Rolling Stone,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The initial announcement in early September included brand loyalists Adriana Lima, Alex Consani, Anok Yai, Joan Smalls, Lily Aldridge and Yumi Nu.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nationalists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nationalists. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share