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isolationist

isolationist

8 7.5
A person who wants their country to stay out of other countries' affairs
  • noun
  • /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃənɪst/
  • Literature
translation icon : aislacionista
  • As an isolationist, she believes that her country should avoid entanglements in other nations' conflicts.

I am not a British isolationist, but I do want a better deal for Britain.

Examples

  • I want trade, I don't want to be an isolationist, but what's happening with China, what's happening with Japan, what's happening with Mexico, is just absolutely eating our lunch, it's a shame, it's terrible.

  • Only the most stalwart isolationists argue that engagement with China is wrong.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I am not a British isolationist, but I do want a better deal for Britain.

  • You tell me if that sounds like an "isolationist" to you.

    Blog text (24)
  • After all, Senator Fosdick was an isolationist.

  • She's an isolationist.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Will, the war in Iraq is not an issue of Democrat vs. Republican, Liberal vs. Conservative, Isolationist vs. Imperialist.

    Blog text (25)
  • Brundage was an American, a Republican, and an isolationist who was wont to complain that he hadn't had anyone to vote for since Coolidge and Hoover.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The senator's isolationist beliefs led him to oppose foreign interventions.

  • Many isolationists argue that focusing on domestic issues is more important than international relations.

Synonyms

noninterventionist
vsisolationist
1 8.4

A person who does not want to get involved in other countries' problems

favours complete noninvolvement in other countries' affairs rather than limited avoidance
neutralist
vsisolationist
  • Formal
1 7.8

A person who wants their country to stay out of other countries' wars

wants refusal to be involved in foreign affairs rather than mere impartiality

Antonyms

10 6.3

A person who supports more cooperation and closer ties between countries

Supporting greater cooperation between countries

How Isolationist

hardliner
19 7.5
isolationist
  • Literature
8 7.5

Surface Forms

isolationist singular
isolationists plural

Morphology

isolationist = isolation (transparent) = isolation + ist

The meaning is directly formed from the noun 'isolation' plus the agent/ideology suffix '-ist', producing 'a person who supports isolation'.

Etymology

Isolationist comes from isolate, which in turn comes from a word for island ('island'), and the ending -ist means 'person who'. So an isolationist is like someone who wants their country to be an island—staying apart and not taking part in other countries' affairs.