traditionalist
Americannoun
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traditionalists
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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anti-traditionalistnoun
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non-traditionalistnoun
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semi-traditionalistnoun
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anti-traditionalistadjective
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non-traditionalistadjective
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semi-traditionalistadjective
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traditionalisticadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
A traditionalist wants things to stay the same. If you prefer vinyl albums to MP3 players, you just might be a traditionalist. The noun traditionalist describes a person who believes the old ways are best, like a traditionalist who favors writing letters over sending emails. Sometimes, though, traditionalist describes someone so rigid that any new idea sounds like a bad one, like the traditionalist attitude that kept some American colonists from joining the Revolution.
Vocabulary lists containing traditionalist
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:
Her election has also led some traditionalist churches abroad to threaten to leave the Anglican Communion.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
You ever go through a cranky traditionalist phase?
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
“The traditionalist in me feels like when Yale beats Harvard, that’s it,” Hill said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
As a stock-and-bond traditionalist who hasn’t yet used the firm’s services, I have questions.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
Instead, they have kept their traditionalist beliefs, and their churches have even attracted new members from among the well-off.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The artificiality of all this, however, has pitted him against traditionalists who believe in the ocean's ability to self-heal.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
For years, soccer traditionalists worried a halftime show would unnecessarily “Americanize” the tournament.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Tribalists and traditionalists have controlled the terms of the battle, one by simplifying, the other by denying, the way privilege has shaped our compound selves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Matthew wrote about the rulebreakers, experimentalists and traditionalists shaping the bagel industry today—read all about it below.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and reformers, white-collar officials and blue-collar miners, all remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected all different opinions.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
