maximalist

[mak-suh-muh-list]

noun

a person who favors a radical and immediate approach to the achievement of a set of goals or the completion of a program.

Origin of maximalist

< Russian maksimalíst, coinage orig. applied in 1906 to an extreme splinter group of the Russian Socialist-Revolutionary party; see maximal, -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for maximalist

Contemporary Examples of maximalist

First, he argued that they could ban anyone who doesn't agree with a maximalist notion of secure borders.
'Is It Good For The Jews?' Is Not The Question
Shany Mor
December 9, 2013
Norman was the very antithesis of minimalism—he was a maximalist.
Joyce Carol Oates Salutes Norman Mailer
Joyce Carol Oates
October 24, 2012
The maximalist goal is to apply enough economic pressure to incite domestic revolution and the fall of the regime.
Iran Sanctions: What's the Mission?
David Frum
October 15, 2012
The maximalist goal should strongly appeal to those who'd like to see a better and more just world.
Iran Sanctions: What's the Mission?
David Frum
October 15, 2012
The U.S. has three goals vis-a-vis Iran: minimalist, maximalist and in-between.
Iran Sanctions: What's the Mission?
David Frum
October 15, 2012

Historical Examples of maximalist

On July 18, 1917, there was a sudden outburst of Maximalist activity, the most violent which had yet occurred.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for maximalist

maximalist

noun

a person who favours direct action to achieve all his goals and rejects compromise

Maximalist

noun (in early 20th-century Russia)

a member of the radical faction of Social Revolutionaries that supported terrorism against the tsarist regime and advocated a short period of postrevolutionary working-class dictatorship
a less common name for a Bolshevik

Compare Minimalist

Word Origin for Maximalist

C20: from French, a translation of Russian; see Bolshevik

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for maximalist

"extreme radical in the Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party," early 20c., from maximal + -ist; denoting "one who insists on all his demands." Related: Maximalism.