originalist

American

[uh-rij-uhn-uhl-ist] / əˈrɪdʒ ən əl ɪst /

noun

U.S., Law. a person who supports or is guided by originalism.

adjective

U.S., Law. supporting, arising from, or relating to originalism.

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:

originalist

But I also know that I might be a little bit of an originalist in this regard.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

Six of these are wrong turns, and the seventh places an originalist judge at a crucial crossroads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

I envision an originalist judge driving down a highway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Over the past seven years, Judge Rudofsky has earned a reputation as a cerebral jurist willing to reconsider legal disputes from an originalist perspective.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

It hadn’t, although that 2023 decision, written by Chief Justice Roberts, approvingly quoted Harlan’s Plessy dissent, and Justice Thomas filed a solo concurrence “to offer an originalist defense of the colorblind Constitution.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023