Meaning & use
eco warrior
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person who campaigns strongly or takes direct action to protect the natural environment.
Grammar: Countable: an eco warrior, several eco warriors.
Patterns
- an eco warrior for something
My cousin is an eco warrior who spends weekends cleaning rivers.
A group of eco warriors chained themselves to the trees.
He became an eco warrior after seeing the polluted beach.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
Someone who is very keen about green living and may criticize others for their habits.
Grammar: Often used playfully or critically about an enthusiastic recycler.
Patterns
- a self-proclaimed eco warrior
Our office eco warrior reminds everyone to switch off the lights.
Don't be such an eco warrior; it's just a plastic straw.
She jokingly calls herself the family's eco warrior.
Word forms
| plural | eco warriors |
|---|
Common combinations
- a dedicated eco warrior
- He is a dedicated eco warrior who rides a bike everywhere.
- an eco warrior protest
- An eco warrior protest blocked the road.
- young eco warriors
- Young eco warriors led the climate march.
- self-styled eco warrior
- The self-styled eco warrior lives in a treehouse.
- become an eco warrior
- She became an eco warrior after studying biology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- environmentalist
- Environmentalist is the neutral and formal term, whereas eco warrior suggests more active or confrontational campaigning.
- activist
- Activist is general and can campaign for any cause, while eco warrior is specifically about nature.
- conservationist
- Conservationist focuses on protecting wildlife and habitats and sounds more scientific.
- tree hugger
- Tree hugger is a more mocking and potentially dismissive term for someone passionate about nature.
Word family
- eco adjective
- short for ecological or environmentally friendly
- eco-friendly adjective
- not harmful to the environment
- warrior noun
- a fighter, or a person who campaigns hard
- ecology noun
- the study of living things and their surroundings
Commonly confused: eco warrior or eco-terrorist?
eco warrior vs eco-terrorist
Eco-terrorist is a loaded and negative term for someone who uses violence for environmental aims; an eco warrior is usually peaceful.
Practice
Dan spends his weekends planting trees and protesting against a new highway, so friends call him an ___.
Choose one answer.
An eco warrior actively campaigns for nature. An ecologist studies ecosystems and an economist studies money; none of those stands for active campaigning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eco warrior”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.