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).

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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

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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

The offshore industry has been lobbying hard, stressing the economic and energy security benefits, but environmentalist argue that more drilling is incompatible with efforts to tackle climate change.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Karen Rossi’s 2007 environmentalist doc “Isla Chatarra,” for example, inspired Jones Molina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

"From an environmentalist point of view, this is chaos," said Silvio Pastore, a geology professor at the National University of San Juan.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 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

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

His comments should have been celebrated by utilities, hyperscalers, everyday ratepayers and even environmentalists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Greenpeace and other environmentalists have also raised objections over its impact.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

After that, not just a small group of dedicated environmentalists was aware of the development.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

The two mayoral candidates, appearing in separate “fireside chats” at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College downtown, cast themselves as strong environmentalists before the crowd of about 200 people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Yes, yes, we are in favor of helping the poor, environmentalists respond.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• ecologist