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loyalist

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loyalist¹

  • /ˈlɔɪəlɪst/

Where it comes from

From loyal + -ist. Piecewise doublet of legalist.

noun loyalists

  1. A person who is loyal to a cause, generally used as a political affiliation. Most estimates place one-third of Americans as loyalist, one-third on the fence, to be swayed by whomever was winning, and one-third rebel.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of Loyalist

Loyalist²

Where it comes from

Capitalization of loyalist, q.v. As a Canadian settlement, in particular reference to the United Empire Loyalists.

noun Loyalists

  1. Canada, US, historical A person from the 13 Colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America who remained loyal to the British Empire during the American Revolution.

    Similar: Tory, Royalist, United Empire Loyalist · Opposite: Patriot, Whig

  2. Canada, abbreviation, historical Short for United Empire Loyalist, such colonists who migrated to Canada.
  3. Ireland, UK A person who supports Northern Ireland remaining loyal to the United Kingdom instead of eventually uniting with the Republic of Ireland, especially one who accepts or advocates violence for the cause.

    Opposite: Republican

proper noun

  1. A township municipality in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: stalwart, loyal, supporting, governmental, fundamentalist, paramilitaries, pro-, superloyalist, ultraloyalist, disloyalist, factionalist, unionist, true blue, tribalist, natoist, partisan

Translations

Every language

noun a person who is loyal to a cause

Españollealista
Portuguêslealista
Françaisloyaliste
DeutschLoyalist, Loyalistin
Italianolealista
Русскийлояли́ст lojalíst, лояли́стка lojalístka, вернопо́дданный vernopóddannyj, вернопо́дданная vernopóddannaja

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MLA

"loyalist." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loyalist. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

loyalist. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loyalist

Chicago

"loyalist." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loyalist.

BibTeX
@misc{loyalist_2026,
  title = {loyalist},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loyalist},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}