maximalists

Noun

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
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
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
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
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

See all 10 meanings of maximalist