secessionist

noun

Definition of secessionistnext
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.

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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 If nothing is done, the secessionists may achieve success simply for lack of opposition. — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Analysts sympathetic to Riyadh say Saudi policy is to defend state sovereignty and regional order, accusing Abu Dhabi of empowering secessionists to maintain influence in failing states. — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026 The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation. — CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025 The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with ISIS or al Qaeda to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation. — CBS News, 30 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for secessionist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secessionist
  1. rebel
  2. separatist
  3. insurgent
  4. extremist
Noun
  • The Saudis did not blame any party for the attacks, but Houthi rebels took credit earlier for the airport strikes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Attacks by the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group, on commercial shipping in the Red Sea over the last three years have pushed major carriers around the Cape of Good Hope, boosting traffic at ports along Africa’s southern and western coasts.
    — Jared Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • Spain has lifted the arrest warrant for Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, allowing the politician to return home without fear of detention for the first time in nearly a decade.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Women had long been leaders and chief ideologues in secular movements – such as in the Weather Underground in the United States, Italy’s Red Brigades, Germany’s Red Army Faction and the Basque separatist group ETA.
    — Sara Harmouch, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of separatist
Noun
  • They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.
    — Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Others look further back to early and sporadic insurgent activity in 1964, before the UDI, or to 1965, the year of the UDI (November 11) itself.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • The groups similarly present themselves as armed community defenders against the government or right-wing extremists, but continue to find members who get in trouble with law enforcement.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Labour legislator Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of extremist

Browse Nearby Words

secerns
secessionist
secessionists
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Cite this Entry

“Secessionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secessionist. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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