FLAG-WAVER Synonyms: 11 Similar and Opposite Words

flag-waver

noun

ˈflag-ˌwā-vər

as in nationalist

one who shows excessive favoritism towards his or her country a newspaper columnist who never manages to be anything other than a knee-jerk flag-waver

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flag-waver Traditional Italian dance of the flag-wavers Sbandieratori doing stunts throwing their colorful flags in the air. —

Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026 Onstage at this month’s AmericaFest, the annual conference hosted by Kirk’s organization Turning Point, Aldean and his wife, Brittany, spoke openly about their role as country-music flag-wavers for the MAGA movement. —

Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025 For those two groups to get in not just over Carey and O’Connor, but more traditional rock and roll flag-wavers like Oasis and Lenny Kravitz, is also something of a shock. —

Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flag-waver

nationalist

Noun

America, the world’s oldest, continuous, modern democracy, will soon celebrate its 250th birthday—mired in conflict and piloted by a belligerent and mercurial nationalist.

— Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026
In more recent years, the culture wars waged by India’s ruling Hindu nationalists have complicated the image of Tipu and his father, who some now have recast as bloodthirsty Muslim warlords rather than icons of national resistance.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 2 July 2026