pacifist

1 of 2

noun

pac·​i·​fist ˈpa-sə-fist How to pronounce pacifist (audio)
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
Not 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

pacifist

2 of 2

adjective

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
pacifistically adverb

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
Noun
The official synopsis reads: When a pacifist is called to a political act that could change the course of history, how will a man of honor respond? Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 20 June 2024 Rankin was a lifelong pacifist who campaigned for social and electoral reform. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Snufkin’s instruments are particularly crucial to the pacifist game’s main conflict — destroying the Park Keeper’s tidy parks. Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024 Making matters worse, Koike prevented some liberal DP candidates from joining the Party of Hope by requiring that party members support revising Japan’s pacifist constitution. Tobias Harris, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2017 See all Example Sentences for pacifist 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pacifist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1898, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1908, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pacifist was in 1898

Dictionary Entries Near pacifist

Cite this Entry

“Pacifist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pacifist. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

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