Meaning & use
pacifist
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Meanings
nouncountable
Someone who holds that fighting and war are always wrong and refuses to take part in them.
Grammar: Refers to a person: she is a committed pacifist.
Patterns
- a pacifist by conviction
- a lifelong pacifist
As a pacifist, he refused to join the army.
The pacifist argued that no cause justified killing.
Her grandmother was a pacifist who marched against nuclear weapons.
adjectivebefore a noun
Opposed to war and violence, or based on such opposition.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: pacifist ideals, a pacifist movement.
Patterns
- pacifist views
- a pacifist stance
The church has a long pacifist tradition.
He took a pacifist position throughout the conflict.
The film carries a strongly pacifist message.
Word forms
| plural | pacifists |
|---|
Common combinations
- committed pacifist
- He was a committed pacifist all his adult life.
- pacifist movement
- The pacifist movement grew after the war.
- devout pacifist
- A devout pacifist, she would not even watch boxing.
- pacifist beliefs
- His pacifist beliefs led him to work in a hospital instead of fighting.
- declare yourself a pacifist
- He declared himself a pacifist at the tribunal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- peacemaker
- A peacemaker actively works to end conflict, whereas a pacifist rejects violence on principle but may not mediate anything.
- dove
- Dove is informal and describes someone who prefers peaceful solutions, not necessarily someone who rejects all force.
- conscientious objector
- A conscientious objector specifically refuses military service, which is one action a pacifist might take.
- nonviolent
- Nonviolent is an adjective about methods, while pacifist names a person or a belief.
Opposites
Word family
- pacifism noun
- the belief that war is always wrong
- pacify verb
- to calm or make peaceful
- pacific adjective
- peaceful or loving peace
- pacifistic adjective
- showing pacifist beliefs
Commonly confused: pacifist or passive? pacifist or pacifier?
pacifist vs passive
A passive person simply does not act; a pacifist actively holds that violence is wrong.
pacifist vs pacifier
A pacifier is a rubber device for a baby to suck, not a person opposed to war.
Practice
A pacifist would most likely agree with which statement?
Choose one answer.
A pacifist believes violence and war are never justified. The other options all defend the use of force.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pacifist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.