loyalist

noun

loy·​al·​ist ˈlȯi-ə-list 

: one who is or remains loyal especially to a political cause, party, government, or sovereign

Synonyms

• patriot

Examples of loyalist in a Sentence

die-hard loyalists engaging in espionage against the revolutionaries

Recent Examples on the Web

But Marcos and his vice president have since had a bitter fallout, culminating in Sara Duterte’s impeachment last month by a lower house led by loyalists of Marcos. —Reuters, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2025

So do other moves by Trump that signal greater ambitions to personalize the security forces, such as selecting loyalists to lead the FBI and Secret Service and purging the military lawyers who help soldiers abide by the law. —Joe Wright, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025

International alarm is growing over fighting in western Syria, where hundreds of civilians have been reportedly killed amid intense clashes between the country’s new government and loyalists to the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad. —ABC News, 8 Mar. 2025

Meanwhile, the White House reportedly devolved into recriminations around Bondi’s original stunt and tried to assuage the MAGA loyalists who had used their large online platforms to criticize it. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing loyalist

• party loyalist

Rhymes for loyalist

• royalist

Kids Definition

loyalist

noun

loy·​al·​ist ˈlȯi-ə-ləst 

: one who is or remains loyal to a political cause, government, or sovereign especially in times of revolt