conservationist

noun

con·​ser·​va·​tion·​ist ˌkän(t)-sər-ˈvā-sh(ə-)nist How to pronounce conservationist (audio)
: a person who advocates conservation especially of natural resources

Examples of conservationist in a Sentence

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Here, conservationists are planning to build two wildlife crossings over State Route 62, which connects Los Angeles and Joshua Tree National Park and is the site of hundreds of collisions between cars and wildlife every year. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 But conservationists still question the volume — and methods — of death. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026 Acehnese conservationist Farwiza Farhan has spent years fighting to protect Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem—perhaps the last place on Earth where elephants, tigers, rhinos and orangutans still coexist in the wild. — Ashleigh Nghiem, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026 In the Shawnee, conservationists point to threatened wildlife such as the Indiana bat and timber snake that depend on an intact forest habitat. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for conservationist

Word History

Etymology

conservation + -ist entry 1

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of conservationist was in 1870

Rhymes for conservationist

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Browse Nearby Words

conservation area
conservationist
conservation of angular momentum
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Cite this Entry

“Conservationist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservationist. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

conservationist

noun
con·​ser·​va·​tion·​ist ˌkän(t)-sər-ˈvā-sh(ə-)nəst How to pronounce conservationist (audio)
: a person who is in favor of conservation especially of natural resources (as forests)
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