environmentalist

American  

[en-vahy-ruhn-men-tl-ist, -vahy-ern-] / ɛnˌvaɪ rənˈmɛn tl ɪst, -ˌvaɪ ərn- /

noun

• environmentalists
  plural

1. an expert on environmental problems.

2. any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.

3. a person who believes that differences between individuals or groups, especially in moral and intellectual attributes, are predominantly determined by environmental factors, as surroundings, upbringing, or experience (opposed to hereditarian).

---

environmentalist British  

/ ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmɛntəlɪst /

noun

1. an adherent of environmentalism

2. a person who is concerned with the maintenance of ecological balance and the conservation of the environment

3. a person concerned with issues that affect the environment, such as pollution

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antienvironmentalist
  noun
• environmentalism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• environmentalists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of environmentalist

First recorded in 1915–20; environmental ( def. ) + -ist

Compare meaning

How does environmentalist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• conservationist vs. environmentalist

Explanation

If you're a true environmentalist, you care deeply enough about the natural world to make protecting it a real priority. You may even have made it your life's work. These days, there's no shortage of work for the world's environmentalists. What with climate change, oil spills, gas drilling, deforestation, and species decline (just to name a few), there's almost no time to breathe. Show me an environmentalist with nothing to do, and I'll show you someone who isn't paying attention. Environmentalists — people who work to protect the environment — often work hand in hand with conservationists, whose job is to protect and maintain as much of the natural world as possible.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

environmentalist environmentalists

Becerra emerged from the primary ahead of more progressive opponents, including billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, and quickly earned the backing of their onetime supporters, said IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Why do we need a nine gigawatt data center in one of the driest states in the nation that’s in a severe drought,” Caroline Gleich, an environmentalist and professional skier, asked.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

She was this extraordinary polymath from the 12th century who was a healer, a writer of revelations and an early environmentalist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Other characters include Bernard the litter‑picking tree who is described as a "descendant of a legendary environmentalist lineage" inspired by nature documentaries.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

This soundscape, as acoustic environmentalist R. Murray Schafer conceived it, concerns what those sounds tell us about who we are and the time in which we live.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Once again, the environmentalists — the Resource Renewal Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project — sued.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

In California, a mining company is scrapping with environmentalists over an expansion plan meant to quadruple gold output.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Despite progress on deforestation, environmentalists have criticized Lula's backing of an oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Under management consultant Karen Brosnan, a task-and-finish group of more than 70 farmers, scientists, environmentalists and agri-food representatives reviewed responses to that consultation and have agreed on a new document.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

By denying the very possibility of such practices, these researchers say, environmentalists may hasten, rather than halt, the demise of the forest.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• ecologist