ac·tiv·ist
ˈak-ti-vist 
plural activists
: one who advocates or practices activism : a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as public protests) in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
Antiwar activists were protesting in the streets.
an environmental activist
political activists
The conventional wisdom is that young people no longer care enough to stand up for what is important; that the days of activism and protest have faded into the past, the bailiwick of aging hippies and activists.—
The Easton (Massachusetts) Journal
The Easton (Massachusetts) Journal
activistic
adjective
What is news to me … is how much alike were the fears and concerns of both activistic Democrats and skeptical Republicans …
—Nathan Glazer
Nathan Glazer
: advocating or practicing activism : using or supporting strong actions in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
For the activist groups that will carry the nomination fight to the public, the name of the game is hit early and often.—Richard Lacayo
Richard LacayoPressing demands that are both global and granular, the activist investor has turned himself into one of the food sector's most influential players, affecting how millions of people eat each day.—Julie Jargon
Julie JargonThey plan to become activist shareholders who will protest global-warming resolutions and anything else that undermines corporate profitability.—John J. Miller
John J. MillerExamples of activist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebBruce Fuller, Orange County Register, 12 May 2024
We as students have fortunately a lot to draw from -- previous movements and previous generations, organizers and student activists.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 11 May 2024
Other rights activists, parliamentarians, and religious and civil society leaders joined the ultimately successful battle.
—Rabson Kondowe, New York Times, 10 May 2024
In the 1970s and 1980s, student activists across the country pushed their universities to divest from firms that supported or profited from South African apartheid.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2024
Shrewsbury first got involved in West Virginia politics on the 2020 Senate campaign of Paula Jean Swearengin, a progressive activist from a coal-mining family, who ran against West Virginia’s Republican senator, Shelley Moore Capito.
—Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, 9 May 2024
Fast forward 55 years, universities like CUNY and Columbia now celebrate those activists of old, featuring this activism on their websites and praising them in anniversary celebrations of Africana and Puerto Rican Studies.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
On Thursday, local police reported that over 10,000 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, marched through the city in a pro-Palestine protest that directly called on Eurovision organizers to drop Israel from the contest.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
Of course, the Democratic activist pretending to be a judge is chomping at the bit to lock up Donald Trump, with or without a guilty verdict.
—Fox News, 8 May 2024
Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 7 May 2024
That followed a contentious, months-long proxy fight brought by activist investor Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Partners had unsuccessfully lobbied to get a pair of board seats.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 May 2024
This marks Disney’s first quarterly earnings report since Iger trounced activist investor Nelson Peltz in a proxy fight, in which Peltz had sought a board seat.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Just last month, Disney bested a group of activist investors, including Nelson Peltz, who unsuccessfully tried to grab two board seats.
—Natasha Piñon, Fortune, 7 May 2024
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for taking advice from activist groups.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 6 May 2024
Already, activist groups are promising major protests over Biden’s support for Israel during the August gathering, all but guaranteeing bad split-screen visuals emphasizing young progressives’ disillusion with a President who urgently needs a strong youth turnout to beat Trump.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
Six activist groups received federal grants to research ways to prevent crime and curb gun violence.
—Detroit Free Press, 18 Apr. 2024
If anything, the board doubled down on backing Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, risking riling up activist investors and more litigation.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Noun
The attack on student activists widens Biden’s generational gap, his limited capacity to hear and resonate with the moral aspirations of America’s youth.
—Bruce Fuller, Orange County Register, 12 May 2024
We as students have fortunately a lot to draw from -- previous movements and previous generations, organizers and student activists.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 11 May 2024
Other rights activists, parliamentarians, and religious and civil society leaders joined the ultimately successful battle.
—Rabson Kondowe, New York Times, 10 May 2024
In the 1970s and 1980s, student activists across the country pushed their universities to divest from firms that supported or profited from South African apartheid.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2024
Shrewsbury first got involved in West Virginia politics on the 2020 Senate campaign of Paula Jean Swearengin, a progressive activist from a coal-mining family, who ran against West Virginia’s Republican senator, Shelley Moore Capito.
—Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, 9 May 2024
Fast forward 55 years, universities like CUNY and Columbia now celebrate those activists of old, featuring this activism on their websites and praising them in anniversary celebrations of Africana and Puerto Rican Studies.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
On Thursday, local police reported that over 10,000 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, marched through the city in a pro-Palestine protest that directly called on Eurovision organizers to drop Israel from the contest.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
Of course, the Democratic activist pretending to be a judge is chomping at the bit to lock up Donald Trump, with or without a guilty verdict.
—Fox News, 8 May 2024
Adjective
There are activist students who stand up for a cease-fire and push the district to teach them more about Palestine.
—Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 7 May 2024
That followed a contentious, months-long proxy fight brought by activist investor Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Partners had unsuccessfully lobbied to get a pair of board seats.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 May 2024
This marks Disney’s first quarterly earnings report since Iger trounced activist investor Nelson Peltz in a proxy fight, in which Peltz had sought a board seat.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Just last month, Disney bested a group of activist investors, including Nelson Peltz, who unsuccessfully tried to grab two board seats.
—Natasha Piñon, Fortune, 7 May 2024
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for taking advice from activist groups.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 6 May 2024
Already, activist groups are promising major protests over Biden’s support for Israel during the August gathering, all but guaranteeing bad split-screen visuals emphasizing young progressives’ disillusion with a President who urgently needs a strong youth turnout to beat Trump.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
Six activist groups received federal grants to research ways to prevent crime and curb gun violence.
—Detroit Free Press, 18 Apr. 2024
If anything, the board doubled down on backing Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, risking riling up activist investors and more litigation.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'activist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Activist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/activist. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
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