environmentalist

[ en-vahy-ruhn-men-tl-ist, -vahy-ern- ]

noun

1. an expert on environmental problems.
2. any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.
3. a person who believes that differences between individuals or groups, especially in moral and intellectual attributes, are predominantly determined by environmental factors, as surroundings, upbringing, or experience ( hereditarian ).

environmentalist

/ ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmɛntəlɪst /

noun

1. an adherent of environmentalism
2. a person who is concerned with the maintenance of ecological balance and the conservation of the environment
3. a person concerned with issues that affect the environment, such as pollution

Other Words From

• en·vi·ron·men·tal·ism noun
• an·ti·en·vi·ron·men·tal·ist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of environmentalist¹

First recorded in 1915–20; environmental ( def ) + -ist

Example Sentences

It was through this history — and the story of this man, a Sierra Club environmentalist, a doctor, a father — that I suspected the clues to future strife in a hotter world might be found, because the conflicts unfolding now seemed to be the fruition of his work.

From Salon

From the time he moved to remote Michigan, he brought the world to him, amassing thousands of books and corresponding with the savants who resonated the most — Garrett Hardin, the ecologist from University of California, Santa Barbara, and Richard Lamm, the environmentalist and three-term governor of Colorado, among them.

From Salon

When the coalition between the chancellor's centre-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and economically liberal FDP was formed in 2021, each party planned to spend big on its own individual core interest groups.

From BBC

The nature presenter and environmentalist will also meet with energy and net zero secretary Ed Miliband "to discuss future progress addressing climate breakdown", his lawyers said.

From BBC

The Sierra Club acknowledges the racist history of its co-founder, the famed environmentalist John Muir.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ecologist