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royalist

American  
[roi-uh-list] / ˈrɔɪ ə lɪst /

noun

  • royalists
    plural
  1. a supporter or adherent of a king or royal government, especially in times of rebellion or civil war.

  2. (initial capital letter) a Cavalier adherent of Charles I of England.

  3. a loyalist in the American Revolution; Tory.

  4. (initial capital letter) an adherent of the house of Bourbon in France.


adjective

  1. of or relating to royalists.

    royalist sympathies.

royalist British  
/ ˈrɔɪəlɪst /

noun

  1. a supporter of a monarch or monarchy, esp a supporter of the Stuarts during the English Civil War

  2. informal an extreme reactionary or conservative

    an economic royalist

"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

adjective

  1. of, characteristic of, or relating to royalists

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of royalist

First recorded in 1635–45; royal + -ist

Vocabulary lists containing royalist

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:

Some royalist leaders, including Lord Capel, removed their hats before execution as a calculated appeal to the crowd.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026

Recovering from his wounds, a still-weakened Miller led another attack against the heavily fortified royalist stronghold of Valdivia, Chile—the “Gibraltar of South America.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

The royalist faction in England were essentially moderates, who believed in religious liberty, wanted global trade and founded the Royal Society to advance science.

From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2025

They said they would not describe themselves as a royalist.

From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2024

He despised those American colonials who had fought against his England, yet he still chose to settle in Philadelphia, where he set up a royalist newspaper called The Porcupine's Gazette.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

After losing power, royalists also used it to signal resistance.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026

The royalists would fight on until late 1824.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Pahlavi's father's body remains buried in Cairo, awaiting what royalists hope will be a symbolic return to Iran one day.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026

The year-long funeral ceremony of Thailand's former Queen Sirikit started Sunday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her remains to lie in state at Bangkok's Grand Palace.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025

Julian was uninvolved in Isrami politics despite his fondness for the princess and his sympathy—on principle—with royalists instead of revolutionaries.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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