noun
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a person who supports pacifism
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a person who refuses military service
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pacifist
From the French word pacifiste, dating back to 1905–10. See pacific, -ist
Explanation
A person who opposes the use of war or violence to settle a dispute is called a pacifist. If you are a pacifist, you talk through your differences with others instead of fighting. A pacifist is a peacemaker — even its Latin origins of pax, or "peace" and facere, "to make" show it. If you are a pacifist, you avoid physical confrontations. The beliefs and actions of peacemakers can also be described as pacifist, as in someone whose pacifist beliefs lead him to take part in nonviolent protests against a war.
Vocabulary lists containing pacifist
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sending its Self-Defense Forces abroad is politically sensitive in officially pacifist Japan, as many voters support the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 constitution.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
She has also been actively courting Trump, agreeing to raise the defence budget, a contentious move under Japan's pacifist constitution.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany dropped a long-standing pacifist tradition and started ramping up spending to overhaul its long underfunded armed forces.
From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025
For an animated feature, “Scarlet” is unusually ambitious: It’s a “Hamlet”-adjacent existential pacifist revenge parable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Paul, a pacifist who did not support the war, was cautious not to criticize pro-war suffragists or the war itself.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
