pacifist

1 of 2

noun

pac·​i·​fist ˈpa-sə-fist 

plural pacifists

: an adherent to pacifism : someone who opposes war or violence as a means of settling disputes

… the attack inflamed the American public and turned isolationists and pacifists into gung-ho patriots hot for revenge.

—Evan Thomas

Not every woman will or should be a pacifist; and to advance in the Senate and into the White House, women will have to convince the voters that they're prepared to go to war.

—Wendy Kaminer

pacifist

2 of 2

adjective

variants or pacifistic

ˌpa-sə-ˈfi-stik 

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of pacifism or pacifists

distributing pacifist literature

2

: strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war

pacifist beliefs

pacifistically

ˌpa-sə-ˈfi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of pacifist

Noun

• dove

Adjective

• pacific
• peaceful
• neutral

Examples of pacifist in a Sentence

Noun

a committed pacifist, Gandhi succeeded in bringing about Indian independence using only nonviolence

Adjective

the newspaper's editorial board has clearly staked out a pacifist position on the current conflict

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

However, it was criticized by pacifists at home and China for deviating from Japan’s postwar self-defense only principle. —ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026

The Anabaptists were a radical nonconformist sect that took the egalitarian, pacifist, and renunciatory injunctions of the Bible seriously and tried to organize communal living, before being ruthlessly persecuted by the authorities and other Protestant sects. —Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

Adjective

Members of the historic pacifist churches like the Quakers, the Mennonites and the Brethren had tough choices to make after hearing the declaration’s call to arms. —Thomas Tweed, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026

Philip Fong | Afp | Getty Images Japan renounced war under Article 9 of its post-World War II pacifist constitution. —Sam Meredith,lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1898, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1908, in the meaning defined at sense 1