activism
noun
ac·tiv·ism
| \ ˈak-ti-ˌvi-zəm
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Definition of activism
: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
political activism environmental activism
Examples of activism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The less noble side of activism is its performance, which seems to have reached its peak in recent years. — Jeanie Riess, The New Yorker, "“The Quick and the Dead,” a Prescient Ode to Political Hopelessness," 24 Aug. 2019 Lewis notes that the Duchess's charity initiatives can raise questions, but can rarely address the underlying systemic causes of a social issue: All of this adds up to a form of activism in which there are problems, but no villains. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Could Fly Commercial—But It Won't Stop the Backlash," 22 Aug. 2019 Ever since their son, Joaquin Oliver, was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Manuel and Patricia Oliver have turned their grief into activism. — Johnny Diaz, sun-sentinel.com, "Father of Parkland school shooting victim Joaquin Oliver launches one-man show," 12 Aug. 2019 This wave of activism resulted in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which granted reparations from the U.S. government to those incarcerated. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, "The Terror: Infamy Is a Step Forward for Depictions of Japanese-American Internment," 12 Aug. 2019 As the United States became more involved in the Vietnam conflict, Butterworth’s opposition to the war turned into activism. — Anne M. Hamilton, courant.com, "Extraordinary Life: During a long lifetime of exploring and speaking up, Mims Butterworth had a simple philosophy: ‘always say yes’," 21 July 2019 A couple years ago people got more into activism and protesting. — Rebecca Milzoff, Billboard, "Tony Nominee Spotlight: How Amber Gray Found Her Way to 'Hadestown'," 5 June 2019 In reality Lewinsky, now 45, has transformed her own anguish into anti-bullying activism and seized a moral high ground. — Dan Zak, The Seattle Times, "The Starr Report got a president impeached 20 years ago, and Ken Starr wants to remind you why," 11 Sep. 2018 In a landmark reform, women were granted the right to drive in 2017 and were issued their first drivers' licenses in 2018, the culmination of years of activism. — Jessie Yeung And Hamdi Alkhshali, CNN, "Saudi Arabian women finally allowed to hold passports and travel independently," 2 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'activism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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