Definition

1. Noun:
   • An extreme bellicose nationalist: A person who expresses or promotes extremely aggressive, warlike, or jingoistic national pride. The term often implies a person who advocates for military action or aggressive foreign policy based on fervent patriotism.

Usage

• The term "flag-waver" is used to describe a person whose nationalism is characterized by overt, enthusiastic, and often uncritical support for their country, typically advocating for its superiority and a confrontational stance toward other nations. It is generally used in a critical or pejorative sense.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The politician was dismissed by critics as a mere flag-waver, more interested in stirring patriotic sentiment than in thoughtful diplomacy.
  • His speeches were full of flag-waver rhetoric, calling for immediate military intervention.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically beyond political contexts to describe anyone who shows excessively fervent, uncritical support for a cause, team, or organization, though its primary meaning relates to nationalism.
  • In the corporate debate, he was the chief flag-waver for the old, aggressive sales strategy.

Variants and Related Words

• Flag-waving (noun): The act or practice of expressing fervent, often aggressive patriotism.
  • The ceremony was criticized for its excessive flag-waving and lack of substantive reflection.

Synonyms

• Jingoist: A person who boasts of their patriotism and favors an aggressive, warlike foreign policy.
• Chauvinist: A person displaying excessive or prejudiced loyalty or support for their own group, cause, or nation.
• Ultranationalist: A person who holds extreme nationalist views.

Antonyms

• Internationalist: A person who advocates for cooperation and understanding between nations.
• Pacifist: A person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Wave the flag: To express or stimulate patriotic feelings, often in a showy or uncritical way. This is the verbal phrase from which "flag-waver" is derived.
  • The event was less a discussion and more an opportunity to wave the flag.

Noun

1. an extreme bellicose nationalist