originalist
Americannoun
adjective
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.
Justice Alito characterizes Mr. Calabresi as “quite a brilliant originalist scholar” and clearly regards his analysis as an honest mistake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Jed Shugerman: There is no way a principled originalist can reconcile Slaughter and Cook, but let me try to give the best account for this.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
These conventions molded the Reconstruction amendments in ways that originalist jurisprudence ignores.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
Roberts is the only member of the conservative majority who doesn’t readily identify as an originalist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
As the late Justice Antonin Scalia stressed, legislative floor explanations are weak evidence for the core originalist question: How would a contemporary informed reader interpret the words as enacted?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
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.
