secessionist
Americannoun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of secessionist
Explanation
A secessionist is someone who wants to break away from a larger group. People who make plans to split from their government and form a new country are secessionists. Secessionist comes from secede, "formally withdraw from," and its Latin roots, which mean "go apart." A secessionist wants to make a break, almost always from their country. The Civil War was a fight between the Union and a coalition of 11 secessionist states that supported slavery. These states split off from the rest of the country after Abraham Lincoln was elected on an anti-slavery platform.
Vocabulary lists containing secessionist
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 1
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Lincoln's Spymaster
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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.
He then formed the STC, grouping secessionist factions.
From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026
The situation has stabilized in recent years following a peace agreement with the Islamic Liberation Front, the largest mainstream Muslim secessionist group, and the creation of an autonomous Muslim region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Those familiar with Mr Dodik’s regular secessionist outbursts rolled their eyes.
From BBC • May 23, 2024
Pablo Simón, political science professor at Carlos III University in Madrid, said that the secessionist movement was in a period of uncertain transition.
From Seattle Times • May 9, 2024
The “secesh” community—those Southern secessionist sympathizers living a secret life in the nation’s capital—is in disarray.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
