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• separatist
  separatist

  noun

  a person who separates, withdraws, or secedes, as from an established church.
• Separatist
  Separatist

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) a person who advocates the secession of a province, esp Quebec, from Canada

separatist

American  

[sep-er-uh-tist, -uh-rey-] / ˈsɛp ər ə tɪst, -əˌreɪ- /

noun

• separatists
  plural

1. a person who separates, withdraws, or secedes, as from an established church.

2. an advocate of separation, especially ecclesiastical or political separation.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating separatism or separatists.

   separatist forces;

   separatist tendencies.

separatist ¹ British  

/ ˈsɛpərətɪst, ˈsɛprə- /

noun

1. 1. a person who advocates or practises secession from an organization or group

   2. ( as modifier )

      a separatist movement

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Separatist ² British  

/ ˈsɛpərətɪst, ˈsɛprə- /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a person who advocates the secession of a province, esp Quebec, from Canada

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Separatism
  noun
• antiseparatist
  noun
• separatism
  noun
• separatistic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• separatists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of separatist

First recorded in 1600–10; separate (adjective) + -ist

Explanation

A separatist is someone who believes certain groups of people should live independently from the larger group. Often religious separatists form new denominations after they break off from a church. Separatists are typically members of a minority group that wishes to protect itself or its identity from the majority group. There are political separatist movements all around the world, including Catalan separatists in Spain, who believe that Catalonia should be an independent nation, and French-Canadian separatists in Quebec.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

separatist Separatist separatists

It has labelled the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a separatist.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Farmers and herders clash over land in the centre of the country while a simmering separatist movement festers in the southeast.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Pakistan's least-developed province grapples with a growing separatist insurgency, which has also targeted mining investments by China.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

India, too, knows that stable ties with Bangladesh are vital to security in its north-east, where several ethnic separatist groups operate.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The separatist governments of the New York and Pennsylvania colonies offered rangers for the project.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

"Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action," said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

Separatist fighters in the country's two English-speaking regions - the North-West and the South-West - took up arms in 2017 calling for the creation of a breakaway state called Ambazonia.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

Separatist insurgents in Pakistan's resource-rich Balochistan province say China has ignored warnings not to enter deals with the Pakistani government.

From Reuters ● Oct. 20, 2023

They enlist Bo-Katan and Din Djarin's help in neutralizing a few repurposed Imperial and Separatist droids that have shrugged off their programming and pose a danger to its citizens.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2023

Distinguish from one another the terms Separatist, Puritan, Prelatist.

From Teachers' Outlines for Studies in English Based on the Requirements for Admission to College by Gilbert Sykes Blakely

Stimson was previously jailed in the UK in 2015 for joining pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

When a judge dealt another blow to separatists in May, Smith appealed the ruling and called the referendum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

While she is correct that the separatists who traveled on the Mayflower in 1620 eschewed the pejorative term Puritan, she errantly suggests that they called themselves Pilgrims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Even if the separatists lose a prospective referendum, leaders on both sides say the process will have permanently changed Canadian politics.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

Initial allegiances shifted as the war went on, but in the end, all six of the Iroquois nations were seen as a threat to the separatists.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• dissident
• protester
• rebel