meliorist

1. A disputant who advocates reform (synset 110534787)
   is a type of: controversialist, disputant, eristic - a person who disputes; who is good at or enjoys controversy
   subtypes:

   • abolitionist, emancipationist - a reformer who favors abolishing slavery
   • birth-control campaigner, birth-control reformer - a social reformer who advocates birth control and family planning
   • chartist - a 19th century English reformer who advocated better social and economic conditions for working people
   • civil rights activist, civil rights leader, civil rights worker - a leader of the political movement dedicated to securing equal opportunity for members of minority groups
   • demonstrator, protester - someone who participates in a public display of group feeling
   • dry, prohibitionist - a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages
   • conservationist, environmentalist - someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution
   • feminist, libber, women's liberationist, women's rightist - a supporter of feminism
   • flower child, hippie, hippy, hipster - someone who rejects the established culture; advocates extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle
   • freedom fighter, insurgent, insurrectionist, rebel - a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)
   • activist, militant - a militant reformer
   • non-resistant, passive resister - a reformer who believes in passive resistance
   • preservationist - someone who advocates the preservation of historical sites or endangered species or natural areas
   • utopian - an idealistic (but usually impractical) social reformer
   specific instances:

   • anthony comstock, comstock - United States reformer who led moral crusades against art and literature that he considered obscene (1844-1915)
   • dix, dorothea dix, dorothea lynde dix - United States social reformer who pioneered in the reform of prisons and in the treatment of the mentally ill; superintended women army nurses during the American Civil War (1802-1887)
   • hus, huss, jan hus, john huss - Czechoslovakian religious reformer who anticipated the Reformation; he questioned the infallibility of the Catholic Church was excommunicated (1409) for attacking the corruption of the clergy; he was burned at the stake (1372-1415)
   • owen, robert owen - Welsh industrialist and social reformer who founded cooperative communities (1771-1858)
   • girolamo savonarola, savonarola - Italian religious and political reformer; a Dominican friar in Florence who preached against sin and corruption and gained a large following; he expelled the Medici from Florence but was later excommunicated and executed for criticizing the Pope (1452-1498)
   • francis everett townsend, townsend - United States social reformer who proposed an old-age pension sponsored by the federal government; his plan was a precursor to Social Security (1867-1960)
   • john wilkes, wilkes - English reformer who published attacks on George III and supported the rights of the American colonists (1727-1797)
   same as: crusader, reformer, reformist, social reformer

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