1
as in patriotic
having or showing love and support for one's country
a nationalistic display of the country's flag at all civic events
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nationalist
having or showing excessive favoritism towards one's own country
a nationalistic economic policy that raises up enormous barriers against the importation of goods from other countries
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nationalistic
The Russian delegation to Geneva was led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin known for his ultraconservative and nationalistic messaging.
—
David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Drunken heckling of a nationalistic speech in Peter Pan also acts as a reminder that the novel’s world exists in the shadow of history.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Unlike others of his ilk, Elon Musk, nominally more interested in colonizing Mars than other parts of Earth, appears to see the annexation of Greenland as a purely nationalistic venture.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2026
Yet Iran is also deeply nationalistic, and even among the remaining 80 percent, support for foreign military intervention has historically been uncertain.
—Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nationalistic
David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Drunken heckling of a nationalistic speech in Peter Pan also acts as a reminder that the novel’s world exists in the shadow of history.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Unlike others of his ilk, Elon Musk, nominally more interested in colonizing Mars than other parts of Earth, appears to see the annexation of Greenland as a purely nationalistic venture.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2026
Yet Iran is also deeply nationalistic, and even among the remaining 80 percent, support for foreign military intervention has historically been uncertain.
—Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nationalistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nationalistic
Adjective
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The party of the president had no effect on Republican patriotic sentiment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The brothers’ story shows not just the friction that separates a family with different patriotic allegiances, but also the geographical and physical separation of having one of them far away in America.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies -- claims that Zelenskyy denies.—
LORNE COOK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
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Orban’s conservative-nationalist party, Fidesz — Hungarian Civic Alliance, is polling behind the pro-European opposition, the Respect and Freedom Party, or Tisza.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nationalistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nationalistic. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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