noun
-
a person who supports pacifism
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a person who refuses military service
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pacifist
From the French word pacifiste, dating back to 1905–10. See pacific, -ist
Explanation
A person who opposes the use of war or violence to settle a dispute is called a pacifist. If you are a pacifist, you talk through your differences with others instead of fighting. A pacifist is a peacemaker — even its Latin origins of pax, or "peace" and facere, "to make" show it. If you are a pacifist, you avoid physical confrontations. The beliefs and actions of peacemakers can also be described as pacifist, as in someone whose pacifist beliefs lead him to take part in nonviolent protests against a war.
Vocabulary lists containing pacifist
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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.
Today’s pacifist arguments have some echoes of the debate that followed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 1979 decision to match a Soviet military buildup in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
That is the choice the country now faces: whether to hold on to a pacifist identity shaped by the past, or adapt to a more volatile future.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to boost Japan’s defense spending and revise its pacifist constitution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
Sending its Self-Defense Forces abroad is politically sensitive in officially pacifist Japan, as many voters support the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 constitution.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
Area Teenager Chooses Poorly My mother, the pacifist, would kill me dead if she knew what I’d just done.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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.
