pacifist

[ pas-uh-fist ]

/ ˈpæs ə fɪst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pacifist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who believes in pacifism or is opposed to war or to violence of any kind.

a person whose personal belief in pacifism causes him or her to refuse being drafted into military service.Compare conscientious objector.

adjective

pacifistic.

RELATED WORDS

peacemaker, Dove, peacenik

Nearby words

Origin of pacifist

From the French word pacifiste, dating back to 1905–10. See pacific, -ist

Related forms

an·ti·pac·i·fist, noun, adjectivenon·pac·i·fist, nounpro·pac·i·fist, noun, adjectivesem·i·pac·i·fist, adjective, noun

un·pac·i·fist, adjective

Can be confusedactivist pacifist passivist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pacifist

And the ones protesting the loudest may be the war-mongering men forced into pacifist celibacy.
Japanese Women Tell Their Men They Have to Choose Between Love and War|Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had a weakness for fine clothes and good-looking women, and he certainly was no pacifist.
Mandela: The Miracle Maker|Sam Seibert|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A veteran hawk, Prime Minister Abe wants to strengthen Japan, even review its pacifist constitution.
Japan’s Anti-Nuclear Activists Losing Ground Since Fukushima Disaster|Lennox Samuels|March 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In their decision they wrote that there was some chance I was a pacifist after all.
My Story As a Pacifist in Israel|Jonathan Ben-Artzi|August 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Though a pacifist and Liberal party mayoral candidate, he was smeared as a “medic to guerrillas.”
Hector Abad On “Oblivion: A Memoir,” a Memorial to His Murdered Father|Maya Jaggi|April 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We might almost say that he was a new type—a nineteenth century humanitarian and pacifist in an eighteenth century environment.
The Idea of Progress|J. B. Bury
The pacifist, let me parenthetically observe, is scarcely a Christian.
Marse Henry (Vol. 1)|Henry Watterson
Most of us would be hard pressed to define the term "pacifist" itself.
Introduction to Non-Violence|Theodore Paullin
Though in no sense a pacifist, Emma Goldman was intensely opposed to wars between nations.
Emma Goldman|Charles A. Madison
The pacifist principles are already widely accepted as ideals in the affairs of individuals.
Introduction to Non-Violence|Theodore Paullin

British Dictionary definitions for pacifist

pacifist

/ (ˈpæsɪfɪst) /

noun

a person who supports pacifism

a person who refuses military service

adjective

advocating, relating to, or characterized by pacifism

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 pacifist

pacifist

1903, from French pacifiste (see pacifism). Related: Pacifistic (1902).

pacifist

noun

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pacifist

Examples from the Web for pacifist

pacifist

noun

adjective

pacifist