Word.ws English Dictionary

maximalist

maximalist adjective: preferring redundancy; tending to do or provide more rather than less.

Adjective (1)

maximalist (comparative more maximalist, superlative most maximalist)

  1. Preferring redundancy; tending to do or provide more rather than less.
    • This, his [Frank Stella's] second Museum of Modern Art retrospective, shows him in his second incarnation, turning his back on Minimalist rationality and opting for a “maximalist,” seemingly free-wheeling Baroque complexity that helped set the stage for New-Expressionism.1987 December 6, Roberta Smith, “Schnabel and Stella: Art, Myth and Ego”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • Three elephantine examples of that trend have been in the news of late, and they call into question their underlying maximalist presumption that more is more.1990 May 27, John Rockwell, “Complete Everything, or Is More Enough?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. Aggressive, expansive.
    • Mr. Schmidt agreed that “both the Russians and the Americans want results,” but he warned that they have a long way to go from “maximalist” starting positions.1981 November 29, Helmut Schmidt, quotee, “Nuclear Theater”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • Jo Leinen, 35 years old, a spokesman for the protest coalition, said today that the Soviet-American arms limitation talks in Geneva are a failure, and blamed the Reagan Administration for having taken “a maximalist position” that doomed the negotiations.1983 October 14, James M. Markham, “West Germans Start Missile Protests”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  3. Relating to religious or Biblical maximalism.
    • Again, the progressive view was that the Mother of Jesus should receive all veneration for holiness, but not the title of mediator between God and man. Much of the Curia supported a “maximalist” cult of the Virgin.1964 September 17, “Powers of Curia Likely to be Cut”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • The case of the Bar Kokhba Revolt is an excellent example of how far the Minimalist and Maximalist interpretations of biblical and even ancient history can be verified.2009, Richard A. Freund, Digging through the Bible, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 329
  4. (historical) Relating to far-left communism.
    • His inclusion in the official delegation to Moscow caused surprise today and was seen as indicative of the Italian Communists' aversion to Maximalist currents in international communism.1961 October 4, Paul Hofmann, “Communists in West Expected to Back Khrushchev Against Soviet and Chinese Left-Wing Extremists”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Noun (1)

maximalist (plural maximalists)

  1. A person with maximalist beliefs or tendencies; someone who prefers redundancy or excess, especially in the arts.
    • Concerning his own purpose in making music, Mr. Babbitt says he would call himself a maximalist: “I try to make music as much as it has ever been or as much as it could be. I may try to put too much into a piece. […]”1982 October 17, Joan Peyser, “Milton Babbitt's Serialism”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • The music, of course, for all of its determined frivolity, is wonderfully eloquent, and composers as diverse as Webern, the great Minimalist, and Mahler, a great “Maximalist,” have come to worship at the shrine.1986 August 24, Tim Page, “Opera: ‘Die Fledermaus’ Gets a Change of Cast”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. A supporter of an aggressive or expansive foreign policy.
    • But on the larger issues, the range of opinion on the best solution runs the gamut from the so‐called hawks, or “maximalists,” as they have come to be known, and the doves, or “minimalists.” The first group would have Israel keep most of the Arab territory she now occupies, and would postpone any...1972 September 17, Terence Smith, “The World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • The policy, however, will collapse unless it produces results. If the region reverts to another stalemate of “no‐peace, no‐war,” the very cause of the October conflagration, then the initiative will pass to the Arab “maximalists,” the Iraqis, the extremist Palestinians, Colonel Qaddafi.1974 March 31, Edward R. F. Sheehan, “He Likes to Be Liked, and Still Have His Way”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  3. A proponent of Biblical maximalism, one who affirms the historicity of central Biblical narratives.
    • The first is reported to represent the secretariat's attempted compromise between the “maximalists” and those who see the further aggrandizement of the cult of Mary as a further obstacle to a dialogue with the Protestants.1964 September 13, “Pope Paul Will Open Session Of Vatican Council Tomorrow”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • The Non-Fundamentalist Maximalists extrapolated from every single archaeological discovery an argument in favor of the authenticity of larger and larger parts of the Bible and used some of the critical Bible study information.2009, Richard A. Freund, Digging through the Bible, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 14
  4. (capitalized, historical, obsolete) A Bolshevik.
    • After a firm opening and an hour of fairly well sustained strength the stock market once more suffered a wide break yesterday following the receipt of the news of the overthrow of Kerensky and the announced intention of the Maximalists to propose an immediate peace with Germany.1917 November 9, “Russian News Brings About Another Collapse—Evidenceof Banking Support”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    • Mr. Bernstein, who spent three months in Petrograd after the Revolution and had seen the Maximalists at work, said their aim was to bring about utter destruction not only of the freedom of the Jews, but also the freedom of all Russia.1917 November 19, “Jews Against Bolsheviki”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  5. (historical) A member of a radical wing split from the Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1906.
  6. (historical) A member of a radical Marxist party in Italy.
    • “Maximalists,” as radical Marxists are called here, and anarchists have always had great influence in Italy's trade‐union movement.[1973 June 19, Paul Hofmann, “Italian Communists Are Asking Workers to Restrict Walkouts”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Adjective (2) capitalized: Maximalist

Maximalist (comparative more Maximalist, superlative most Maximalist)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of maximalist.

Noun (2) capitalized: Maximalist

Maximalist (plural Maximalists)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of maximalist.

Examples of maximalist in a sentence

  • Shadbolt's maximalist, when-in-doubt-be-vivid style capaciously suits “Monday's Warriors,” his novel of the wars between the Maoris and the British in New Zealand in the mid-19th century; […]1992 May 3, Ivan Doig, “Maps Made by Blind Men”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
  • The biennial also includes a sprawling cityscape by Chris Burden incorporating thousands of model buildings, cranes and automobiles, a maximalist vision where Mr.1997 April 6, Trip Gabriel, “Trafficking in Toxic Waste and Human Loneliness”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
  • Bach's choral music was once often heard in maximalist renditions, undertaken by large ensembles who by sheer vocal and instrumental weight emphasize the majestic side of his compositions.1998 May 17, Sarah Bryan Miller, “Classical Brief”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
  • [Christian] Lacroix's maximalist aesthetic has been at odds with fashion trends in recent years.2005 January 26, Jess Cartner-Morley, “Ovation for Lacroix as maximalist look makes a comeback”, in The Guardian:

Antonyms of maximalist

Forms of maximalist

Adjective
comparativemore maximalist
superlativemost maximalist
alternative formMaximalist
comparativemore Maximalist
superlativemost Maximalist
Noun
pluralmaximalists
pluralMaximalists

Origin of maximalist

From maximal + -ist, by analogy with minimalist.

Questions about maximalist

What does maximalist mean?
Maximalist means preferring redundancy; tending to do or provide more rather than less.
How do you use maximalist in a sentence?
Shadbolt's maximalist, when-in-doubt-be-vivid style capaciously suits “Monday's Warriors,” his novel of the wars between the Maoris and the British in New Zealand in the mid-19th century; […]
What part of speech is maximalist?
Maximalist can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near maximalist in the dictionary

  1. maximal ideal
  2. maximal ideals
  3. maximal munch
  4. maximalism
  5. maximalisms
  6. maximalist
  7. maximalistic
  8. maximalists
  9. maximalities
  10. maximality
  11. maximalization

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: maximalist (page history and authors); Maximalist (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “maximalist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/maximalist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.