nationalist

UK: /ˈnæʃ^ənəlɪst/ US: (nash′ə nl ist, nash′nə list)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

na•tion•al•ist  (nash′ə nl ist, nash′nə list), n. 

1. a person devoted to nationalism.
2. Government (cap.) a member of a political group advocating or fighting for national independence, a strong national government, etc.

adj. 

3. Also, na′tion•al•is′tic. of, pertaining to, or promoting nationalism:
   the beginnings of a nationalist movement.
4. Government (cap.) of, pertaining to, or noting a political group advocating or fighting for national independence, a strong national government, etc.

• national + -ist 1705–15

na′tion•al•is′ti•cal•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

na•tion•al•ism /ˈnæʃənəlˌɪzəm, ˈnæʃnəˌlɪz-/   n. [uncountable]

1. Government devotion and loyalty to one's own nation;
   patriotism.
2. Government the desire for national independence.

na•tion•al•ist, adj., n. [countable]
na•tion•al•is•tic, adj. See -nat-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

na•tion•al•ism  (nash′ə nl iz′əm, nash′nə liz′-), n. 

1. Government national spirit or aspirations.
2. Government devotion and loyalty to one's own nation;
   patriotism.
3. Government excessive patriotism;
   chauvinism.
4. Government the desire for national advancement or independence.
5. Government the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.
6. an idiom or trait peculiar to a nation.
7. a movement, as in the arts, based upon the folk idioms, history, aspirations, etc., of a nation.

• national + -ism 1830–40