secessionist

as in rebel
a person who thinks that a nation, state, etc., should separate from another and become independent A growing group of secessionists are pushing for the independence of the region.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of secessionist An Austrian secessionist painted iron center table by Thonet stands atop a circa 1900 Russian Bessarabian wool rug in the two-story entrance hall. David Foxley, Architectural Digest, 20 Mar. 2025 According to researchers at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank in Washington, D.C., these secessionist movements have gained support from Russian accounts on social media. Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025 The base was originally named for Lt. Gen. Henry Benning, a Confederate general and Southern secessionist who opposed freeing slaves. Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2025 Monuments to old secessionists and segregationists had fallen across the country. Charles King, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2021 See All Example Sentences for secessionist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secessionist
Noun
  • Also starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the original 2003 flick found Lohan’s character — a teenage rebel who fronts a rock band called Pink Slip — magically switching bodies with her mother.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 28 May 2025
  • Bo was a rebel on a motorcycle who soon fell for the rich and spirited Hope.
    Victoria Edel, People.com, 26 May 2025
Noun
  • Subsequently, Russia annexed Crimea, pro-Russian separatists proclaimed the independence of the oblasts that comprise the Donbas region, and the Russo-Ukrainian war began.
    Clare Morell, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
  • The oil-rich province is home to a small but dedicated minority of separatists.
    Amber Bracken, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • Authorities have also reported sightings of ELN guerrillas, a Colombian-Venezuelan insurgent faction, operating near key Guyanese border towns.
    Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025
  • Spain approved the deal on Oct. 3, 2023, four days before an insurgent assault led by Hamas on southern Israel that sparked a devastating war in Gaza.
    Brittany Williams, Arkansas Online, 4 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Secessionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secessionist. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

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