preservationist

[prez-er-vey-shuh-nist]

noun

1. a person who advocates or promotes preservation, especially of wildlife, natural areas, or historical places.

   A group of historic preservationists is working to keep the old meeting house intact by turning it into a haven for scholars, researchers, and academics.

Other Word Forms

• preservationism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of preservationist¹

1925–30; preservation ( def. ) + -ist

Example Sentences

Such is the astonishing fiasco unfolding at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A piece of American history lies in rubble as conservatives dismiss objections from historic preservationists as silly overreaction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He hopes the preservationists succeed, despite the odds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In 1975, when the medieval Czech town of Most was demolished to make way for coal mining, scientists and preservationists transported a 10,000-ton church half a mile on custom-built rails.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It sat vacant for over 20 years, while animal and human scavengers ransacked the ten-acre site and claimed it for their own, before it was rescued in the 1990s by architectural preservationists.

Read more on Salon

Actress Diane Keaton has renovated entire homes with historic tiles, and preservationists have been known to dumpster dive to save Batchelder tiles from the landfill.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• biologist 
• botanist 
• conservationist 
• ecologist 
• environmentalist 
• zoologist