crusader

noun

cru·​sad·​er krü-ˈsā-dər 

plural crusaders

: one who engages in a crusade: such as

a

Crusader : a person who participated in any of the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from the Muslims

This is religion as the Crusaders knew it: a battle to the death for souls that if not saved will be forever lost.

—Benjamin R. Barber

Cleanliness improved during the Middle Ages—particularly after the Crusaders imported the Turkish bath.

—Winifred Gallagher

Then the church was looted by the Christian crusaders from the West, who converted it for fifty-seven years to the Roman Catholic ritual.

—Mario Salvadori

b

: a person who makes an impassioned and sustained effort to bring about social or political change

human rights crusaders

an anti-government crusader

Black women lawyers early on were in the forefront of the civil rights struggle. Many women attorneys were crusaders for the poor and needy …

—Rita E. Hauser

Synonyms

• fanatic
• ideologue
• idealogue
• militant
• partisan
• partizan
• red hot
• true believer
• zealot

Examples of crusader in a Sentence

a crusader for improved safety in coal mines

Recent Examples on the Web

Zoom in: Vance is close with anti-ESG crusader and onetime presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. —Nick Sobczyk, Axios, 15 July 2024

In videos, Prince is charming, goofy, a crusader for her causes. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024

Another reminder about Cruz's Cancun trip Allred, in a fiery speech, pinned the blame for the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Cruz, who was elected to the Senate as an antiabortion crusader in 2012. —John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 25 Oct. 2024

Election integrity crusaders have often sought to cast their efforts as innocent reactions to chicanery in the Democratic Party. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1701, in the meaning defined above