royalist

[roi-uh-list]

noun

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

/ 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

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to royalists

Other Word Forms

• royalism noun
• royalistic adjective
• antiroyalism noun
• antiroyalist noun
• nonroyalist noun
• ultraroyalist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of royalist¹

First recorded in 1635–45; royal + -ist

Example Sentences

He was executed the following year, and the war ground on for another decade until Agustín de Iturbide, a royalist colonel, switched allegiances and led the rebel factions to independence.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Like then, the public today is desperate for security, and unselfish, service leadership — not that of “economic royalists,” as FDR described them.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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.

Read more on Barron's

This has given rise to a widespread belief in Thailand that it nearly always rules against those seen as a threat by conservative, royalist forces.

Read more on BBC

The land has been pasture meadow since royalist forces drew up their lines on Lansdown Hill above us, in the English Civil War in the 1600s.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• archconservative 
• right-winger www.thesaurus.com
• rightist 
• traditionalist www.thesaurus.com