environmentalist

[en-vahy-ruhn-men-tl-ist, -vahy-ern-]

noun

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 (hereditarian ).

environmentalist

/ 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

• environmentalism noun
• antienvironmentalist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of environmentalist¹

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

Example Sentences

This extraordinary man of parts was a novelist, nature writer, editor, environmentalist, political activist, outdoorsman and Zen master.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the midst of Belém’s COP30 bedlam, environmentalists, economists, lobbyists and diplomats busily haggle at the global climate conference about what we can and cannot get away with in negotiations over Mother Nature.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Despite the warm reception Newsom has received in Belém, environmentalists in California have recently questioned his commitment.

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It’s a major win for environmentalists and federal wildlife officials who want to protect northern spotted owls that have been crowded out by their larger, more aggressive cousins.

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For years, environmentalists have urged the city to take less water from the creeks that feed it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ecologist