noun
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a person who supports pacifism
-
a person who refuses military service
adjective
Other Word Forms
- antipacifist noun
- nonpacifist noun
- propacifist noun
- semipacifist adjective
- unpacifist adjective
Etymology
Origin of pacifist
From the French word pacifiste, dating back to 1905–10. See pacific, -ist
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.
Sending its Self-Defense Forces abroad is politically sensitive in officially pacifist Japan, as many voters support the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 constitution.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
For an animated feature, “Scarlet” is unusually ambitious: It’s a “Hamlet”-adjacent existential pacifist revenge parable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Despite him being a vocal pacifist and critic of actions by major nations that he perceived as harmful, there were also those who felt he should have been more progressive.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2025
Carter was a peacemaker but not a pacifist, and saw the need for military strength.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025
He talked of the pacifist views he’d held before World War II. He talked of his love of world travel and the environment and college football.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
