Activist

How to spell activist

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce activist

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does activist mean?

1. nounA person who campaigns vigorously for political or social change.

Activist in a sentence

• The climate activist organised a peaceful protest outside Parliament.

• As a lifelong housing activist, she lobbied the council for affordable rents.

Where does activist come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb agere, meaning 'to do', 'to drive', or 'to set in motion', whose past participle actus gave English the noun 'act' and the adjective 'active'. By the late nineteenth century 'active' had spawned 'activism', a term first used in philosophy and politics to describe a doctrine of vigorous action rather than passive acceptance. 'Activist' was coined as the agent noun for someone who practises that doctrine, and it took firm root in the early twentieth century as movements for suffrage, labour, and civil rights gave the word its modern political flavour. The -ist suffix, borrowed ultimately from Greek through Latin and French, marks a person defined by an activity or belief, just as in 'cyclist' or 'pianist'. The clearest spelling cue is the family resemblance: act, active, activity, and activist all keep the same act- core, so once you see the everyday 'active' inside it, the spelling falls into place.

How the word is built

• act (from Latin agere: to do, drive)
• -ive (tending to)
• -ist (one who does or practises)