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

But the incoming PM is also facing concerted lobbying from his own environmentalist MPs.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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

Billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmentalist Tom Steyer was in third place with 22.5% — knocking the Democrat out of contention for the November election.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Represented by a blue‑skinned woman wearing feather ornaments, Gaitana describes herself as an environmentalist and animal rights defender.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 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

To counter opposition from environmentalists and regional political bosses, she wants 40% of mining revenue to remain in local communities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

It's also the one which is likely to face the least opposition from environmentalists.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Some legislators worry recognizing the threatened scrub jay could empower environmentalists to protect more habitat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Protesters carried signs bearing the names and photographs of environmentalists who disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

For the CEO with the bad hamburger meat, Sandman engages in “outrage reduction”; for the environmentalists, it’s “outrage increase.”

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• ecologist