crusader

[ kroo-seyd-er ]

noun

1. Often Crusader. a participant in any of the crusades or military expeditions undertaken with papal sanction by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries in an effort to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims:

   Orders of monks who were also knights became the "storm troops" of the Christian crusaders.

2. a participant in any vigorous movement for the defense or advancement of an idea, cause, etc.:

   Nepal's most prominent crusader for equal rights for sexual minorities was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crusader¹

crusade ( def ) + -er ¹( def )

Example Sentences

He campaigned first and foremost as a crusader for New York City’s large nonwhite working class, using Manhattan’s ivory tower and its “fancy candidates” as a foil.

From FiveThirtyEight

Yet a closer look suggests the site is not always the independent crusader it appears to be.

From Washington Post

It’s conceivable that another figure from the party, the rabid anti-judiciary crusader Simcha Rothman, would be justice minister.

From Time

Hamzah, who paints himself as an anti-corruption crusader, fits the bill as someone tribes could turn to as an alternative to the current leader.

From Vox

It’s a mistake to think of the public as divided between a faction of enthusiastic vaccine advocates and a smaller bloc of equally adamant anti-vaccination crusaders.

From FiveThirtyEight

The lascivious sex predator is out; the deep-pocketed caped crusader is most definitely in.

From The Daily Beast

His success was revolutionary, but what would the crusader think if he saw the massacres that have gone unstopped today?

From The Daily Beast

At the core of al Qaeda's narrative is the message that Islam is under siege by a 'Zionist Crusader' conspiracy.

From The Daily Beast

In an article entitled “In the words of the enemy,” it describes Obama as a “crusader, apostate.”

From The Daily Beast

But really, what does it matter if the caped crusader is gay?

From The Daily Beast

So the spirit of the simple crusader went marching on through the war, and his name was linked forever with the cause of freedom.

From Project Gutenberg

The feeling that he, too, was a crusader grew strongly upon him, and by night and day was his support.

From Project Gutenberg

Old and thickly inhabited Europe melted away, and the young crusader stood alone and solitary among the mountains.

From Project Gutenberg

The crusader of the day before was none the less the crusader this morning, and he whistled soft and happy airs as he descended.

From Project Gutenberg

He was the young crusader again, a knight coming to rescue his lady from the hands of the infidels.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• agitator
• campaigner
• zealot