traditionalist
Americannoun
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traditionalists
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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anti-traditionalistnoun
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non-traditionalistnoun
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semi-traditionalistnoun
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anti-traditionalistadjective
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non-traditionalistadjective
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semi-traditionalistadjective
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traditionalisticadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
A traditionalist wants things to stay the same. If you prefer vinyl albums to MP3 players, you just might be a traditionalist. The noun traditionalist describes a person who believes the old ways are best, like a traditionalist who favors writing letters over sending emails. Sometimes, though, traditionalist describes someone so rigid that any new idea sounds like a bad one, like the traditionalist attitude that kept some American colonists from joining the Revolution.
Vocabulary lists containing traditionalist
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Scorsese’s entry into the AI field might especially shock fans given his traditionalist approach to filmmaking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Francis's papacy heralded several reforms to the Catholic Church, but on many of its teachings, he was a traditionalist.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
There are various ways to distinguish the modernist writer from the traditionalist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
As a stock-and-bond traditionalist who hasn’t yet used the firm’s services, I have questions.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
Newton’s culture, it could be argued, was inherently conservative and traditionalist; Newton could not have formulated the idea of a revolution even if he had wanted to.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The artificiality of all this, however, has pitted him against traditionalists who believe in the ocean's ability to self-heal.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
For years, soccer traditionalists worried a halftime show would unnecessarily “Americanize” the tournament.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Tribalists and traditionalists have controlled the terms of the battle, one by simplifying, the other by denying, the way privilege has shaped our compound selves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Some traditionalists in the Church of England and the wider global Anglican Communion, continue to oppose the idea of women being priests at all.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
But be aware that some traditionalists still take a narrow view of hopefully.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
