activist

American  

[ak-tuh-vist] / ˈæk tə vɪst /

noun

• activists
  plural

1. an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause, especially a political cause.

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adjective

1. of or relating to activism or activists.

   an activist organization for environmental concern.

2. advocating or opposing a cause or issue vigorously, especially a political cause.

   Activist opponents of the president picketed the White House.

Usage

What does activist mean? An activist is a person who engages in activism—the practice of taking direct action to achieve political or social goals. An activist may support a particular cause (or range of causes) or oppose it. In any case, an activist tries to achieve such goals through direct (and continued) actions, such as protests, lawsuits, lobbying, petitions, and strikes. The word activist implies that the person takes such actions consistently—that they are consistently active in these pursuits. For example, protesting is a form of activism, but someone who attends one protest probably wouldn’t be called an activist (unless they continue to take such actions). The word activist is often preceded by a word referring to the kind of cause the activist is involved in, as in political activist or animal rights activist. It can also be used as an adjective to describe such people or their activities, as in activist lawyer or activist organization. Example: The prominent activist is known for organizing this summer’s mass protests.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonactivist
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• activists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of activist

First recorded in 1905–10; active + -ist

Explanation

An activist is a person who campaigns for some kind of social change. When you participate in a march protesting the closing of a neighborhood library, you're an activist. Someone who's actively involved in a protest or a political or social cause can be called an activist. Demonstrations, strikes, and sit-ins are all ways that an activist might work toward the change she believes in. The root word of activist is the Latin actus, "a doing, a driving force, or an impulse." Someone who acts on what she believes is an activist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

activist activists

Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean pastor and activist, and since 2008, his home country has experienced a kind of inflation and economic instability that is hard to fathom.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

“Yes, I am discouraged. … But I am not despairing,” said Bill McKibben, an author and environmental activist who is organizing a worldwide event called Sun Day for next year to promote clean energy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The family of a Scottish Sikh activist who has been locked up in India for almost nine years without conviction have said he has been granted bail.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The activist investor stated that Cooper Cos. requires an urgent overhaul to address chronic underperformance and poor inventory management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Instead, everyone had trooped to the courthouse to demonstrate—inside, a fellow activist named Bob Eaton was being sentenced to prison for resisting the draft.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Out of the 25,000 people in attendance, only a few dozen showed up for the presentations of activists like Mawarire and Mahboob.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

Local activists told a different story: It was kids’ prolonged isolation from their families that caused them to languish.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

These activists often hire proxy advisory firms to help them “engage” with—i.e., bully—companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

But the contract was pulled from consideration at the last moment after mounting alarm among parent activists and employee groups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Here was the source of the mistaken strategy—the reason why activists could so easily ignore class and could consider race alone a sufficient measure of social oppression.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Related Words

• combatant
• demonstrator
• fighter
• protester
• rioter