nationalist

American  

[nash-uh-nl-ist, nash-nuh-list] / ˈnæʃ ə nl ɪst, ˈnæʃ nə lɪst /

noun

1. a person devoted to nationalism.

2. (initial capital letter) a member of a political group advocating or fighting for national independence, a strong national government, etc.

---

adjective

1. Also nationalistic. of, relating to, or promoting nationalism.

   the beginnings of a nationalist movement.

2. (initial capital letter) of, relating to, or noting a political group advocating or fighting for national independence, a strong national government, etc.

Other Word Forms

• antinationalist
  noun
• antinationalistic
  adjective
• antinationalistically
  adverb
• hypernationalistic
  adjective
• nationalistically
  adverb
• nonnationalistic
  adjective
• nonnationalistically
  adverb
• pronationalist
  adjective
• pronationalistic
  adjective
• quasi-nationalistic
  adjective
• seminationalistic
  adjective
• unnationalistic
  adjective
• unnationalistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of nationalist

First recorded in 1705–15; national + -ist

Explanation

A nationalist is a person who favors independence for a country. A Scottish nationalist, for example, believes that Scotland should be independent and separate from Great Britain. One kind of nationalist advocates political independence, feeling that her region or state would be better off as a completely separate country from the one that currently controls it. Another sort of nationalist also cares deeply for a country — believing, in fact, that her own country is better than all other countries. This type of nationalist is an extreme patriot, and the term has been around since the 1700s.

Example Sentences

Ever since Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government retreated to the island in 1949, after Mao Zedong’s Communist forces won the Chinese Civil War, Beijing has claimed the island as its own territory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

For the next three years, the Nationalist Kuomintang – then the ruling government and the main source of Chinese resistance against Japan – fought a civil war against Mao Zedong's Communist Party forces.

From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025

Concerns about spying in Taiwan and China date back to the Chinese civil war, after which the defeated Chinese Nationalist Party, or the Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan in 1949.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2025

In elections in January, the opposition Nationalist Party and Taiwan People’s Party together secured more seats in the 113-seat legislature than Mr. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party.

From New York Times • May 28, 2024

If you will remember, in my childhood I had been exposed to the Black Nationalist teachings of Marcus Garvey—which, in fact, I had been told had led to my father’s murder.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• superpatriot