a person who separates, withdraws, or secedes, as from an established church.
an advocate of separation, especially ecclesiastical or political separation.
A separatist is someone who believes certain groups of people should live independently from the larger group. Often religious separatists form new denominations after they break off from a church. Separatists are typically members of a minority group that wishes to protect itself or its identity from the majority group. There are political separatist movements all around the world, including Catalan separatists in Spain, who believe that Catalonia should be an independent nation, and French-Canadian separatists in Quebec.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The West African country remains in a security crisis more than a week after an alliance of jihadists and separatist rebels launched their nationwide raids.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Forces at Mali's Tessalit military base, a "super-camp" near the Algerian border, surrendered and were scattering southward, an official from the Tuareg-dominated FLA separatist group told AFP.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Mali's separatists and Islamists groups have had an on-off relationship for years - going back to 2012 when the ethnic Tuareg separatist rebellion was hijacked by Islamist militants.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
This predominantly Tuareg separatist group, created in 2024, wants independence for the territory of Azawad in northern Mali.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
A few minutes before the bell rang, a student asked what role mental disorders might have played in separatist movements.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
