How to Use pacifism in a Sentence

pacifism

noun
  • None of this requires pacifism.
    — Kenneth Zagacki, Sun Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2026
  • That quality, along with conscience, is what draws me toward pacifism now.
    — Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2022
  • The roots of pacifism reach back far beyond the 20th century.
    — Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2022
  • Abe has long pursued a campaign to move Japan beyond its postwar pacifism.
    — Motoko Rich, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2020
  • His pacifism was reinforced early by his father, who was an army doctor.
    — Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Their pacifism later brings them in direct conflict with the colonists gearing up to fight the British.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The pacifism of climate activists appears in two main forms, Malm observes.
    — Benjamin Kunkel, The New Republic, 26 May 2021
  • This issue has been contentious in Japan, where many people think seven decades of pacifism has served them well.
    — Anna Fifield, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2018
  • But his appeasement and pacifism had sown the seeds for a global conflagration soon to come.
    — Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2017
  • Trying to cash in on the assumed pacifism of Germans is an old strategy.
    — Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg.com, 17 May 2017
  • Weber, for years, had dismissed both pacifism and revolution as naive.
    — George Blaustein, The New Republic, 2 July 2020
  • Marko’s troubled relationship with pacifism both stems from childhood abuse and his fear of his own bloodlust.
    — Shaan Amin, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2018
  • Ono’s pacifism has never been flown in for the occasion, like a tearful Oscar’s speech.
    — Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2022
  • Richardson’s pacifism was of supreme importance to him, alongside his passion for science.
    — Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 7 June 2022
  • But Japanese people are proud of their pacifism and keen to stay out of other countries’ affairs.
    — The Economist, 10 Aug. 2019
  • Leo Tolstoy evolved into a world-famous advocate of pacifism.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2022
  • American pacifism’s been shaped by the Vietnam War for half a century.
    — Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Contrary to the pacifism of the group, Alfa employs more violent tactics to fight fascism.
    — Sheena Scott, Forbes, 8 May 2021
  • In spite of the Quaker tradition of pacifism, Butler believed in the mission.
    — Patrick Iber, The New Republic, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Because the Bible talks about Christ as a pacifist, Mennonites believe in pacifism.
    — Jakob Schiller, WIRED, 14 Sep. 2012
  • Fifty years ago today, one of the country’s most famous advocates for pacifism became one of its most famous victims of gun violence.
    — Dan Sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • But pacifism runs deep in Japan, and though 49% of Japan’s citizens agree with the change, 47% oppose it.
    — Eric Singer, Teen Vogue, 6 Aug. 2017
  • Japan, which committed to pacifism in its postwar constitution, has a self-defense force that looks and sounds increasingly like a full-on army.
    — Kerry Brown, Time, 28 Nov. 2025
  • As Japan takes steps away from pacifism, protesters have accused him of to trying to return to the nation's imperialist past.
    — Bill Powell, Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2015
  • As the First World War began, pacifism fell out of vogue, and football was valorized as a means of instilling manly values in boys.
    — Ingfei Chen, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2023
  • Germany increased its defense budget despite a long stance of pacifism after World War II.
    — Phil McCausland, NBC news, 9 May 2022
  • Working-class Labour supporters are also leery of Corbyn’s pacifism and sympathies for groups like Hamas.
    — Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2017
  • That history, and the decades of relative pacifism that followed for Germany, played a significant role in its reluctance to send the tanks.
    — Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2023
  • After 1933, the rise of Hitler forced Einstein to concede that pure pacifism was no longer realistic.
    — Mitch Waldrop, National Geographic, 19 Apr. 2017
  • Folk and pacifism might be on brand for Bob Dylan, but the musician had quite a gravitation to throwing punches…allegedly.
    — Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 1 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pacifism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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