What does "reversionist" mean?

One who clings to previous patterns of behavior or thought, rejecting social or cultural change.

What is a synonym for "reversionist"?

Common synonyms include: apostate, backslider, collaborator, convert, defector, deserter.

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
One who clings to previous patterns of behavior or thought, rejecting social or cultural change.
"The right-wing Reversionist focuses on a small town past where law, order and predictability prevail."
2
someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior wordnet
3
One who has lost faith; a heathen, nonbeliever, or apostate.
"But for the reversionist the indwelling of Christ has no effect."
4
The person to whom a property reverts when a freehold expires.
"As to the argument about the possibility of the reversionist not being capable of discharging his duties, that would equally apply to the granting a place for one life, as then the holder might live so long, or become so infirm as to be unable to fulfil all the duties of his situation."

Adjective

1
Pertaining to or characteristic of reversionists.
"Certain fringe ecologists are quite as reversionist in their thinking, and reach even farther back for their image of the good life."

"The right-wing Reversionist focuses on a small town past where law, order and predictability prevail."

From reversion + -ist.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.