tree-hugger

American  

[tree-huhg-er] / ˈtriˌhʌg ər /

noun

1. an environmentalist, especially one concerned with preserving forests.

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tree-hugger British  

/ ˈtriːˌhʌɡə /

noun

1. informal an environmental campaigner

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Other Word Forms

• tree-hugging adjective

Etymology

Origin of tree-hugger

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

Make no mistake, however: Abramson was not your typical tree-hugger.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2023

But it is the way these trees are grown that is just as interesting to a gardener and tree-hugger like me.

From Washington Post • Dec. 18, 2017

A champion of poor immigrants, a critic of capitalism and a tree-hugger who has, meanwhile, done little to revise the church’s social teachings, Pope Francis has something for both camps.

From Economist • Sep. 17, 2015

Though Lawrence’s door-to-door sorties against tree-hugger pieties seemed lonely and courageous to Mandy’s mother, what took place was a legal contest between a tiny township and a transnational corporation.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 25, 2011

Pastor Tri described himself as both a "tree-hugger and a social conservative".

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2009