nationalist

1 of 2

noun

na·​tion·​al·​ist ˈna-sh(ə-)nə-list 

plural nationalists

: an advocate of or believer in nationalism: such as

a

: a member of a political party or group advocating a government that is strongly committed to nationalism (see nationalism sense 1)

Nationalists in the United States and elsewhere advocate wide-ranging government control of the economy, most notably in the form of industrial policy, protectionism, and immigration restrictionism.

—Alex Nowrasteh and Ilya Somin

b

: a member of a political party or group advocating national independence

An independent Wales, nationalists point out, would still be larger than 39 other self-sufficient nations …

—Peter Stuart

nationalist

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or advocating nationalism

After independence, nationalist fervor rejected compulsory English instruction in favor of the national language, Pilipino, which is based on Tagalog, a tongue spoken by the population around Manila.

—Edwin Kiester, Jr. and Sally Valente Kiester

2

sometimes Nationalist : of or constituting a political group or party advocating or associated with nationalism

the group's nationalist agenda

… the strength of the Nationalist vote greatly inhibits the possibility of a majority Labour government …

—Brian Wilson

—often used in the capitalized names of specific groups

a member of the Irish Nationalist Party

Synonyms

Noun

• chauvinist
• flag-waver
• jingo
• superpatriot

Adjective

• chauvinist
• chauvinistic
• jingoist
• jingoistic
• nationalistic
• superpatriotic

Examples of nationalist in a Sentence

Noun

a staunch nationalist who favored any policy that would give the country more power in the international arena

Adjective

The country's Nationalist Party won the election.

most of the articles on the website are nationalist propaganda and not objective by any means

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

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

American diplomats correctly estimated that the Indonesian nationalists could be counted on as allies in the Cold War and did not want the Netherlands to get in the way. —Nicholas Mulder, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2025

Adjective

But over the past two terms of the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these vendors were accused of hiding their identity, of pretending to be Hindu. —Ismat Ara, TIME, 15 Mar. 2025

Our resident box office expert Nancy theorized earlier this week that a swell of nationalist pride, which included some local companies giving their staff the day off to see the film, ultimately pushed the pic over the edge. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1791, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing nationalist

• anti-nationalist
• black nationalist
• Christian nationalist
• white nationalist

Rhymes for nationalist

• rationalist
• internationalist

Kids Definition

nationalist

noun

na·​tion·​al·​ist

ˈnash-nəl-əst,

-ən-ᵊl-əst

1

: a supporter of nationalism

2

: a member of a group promoting national independence

nationalist adjective

nationalistic

ˌnash-nəl-ˈis-tik

-ən-ᵊl-

adjective