I. - ə lə̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: fundamental (I) + -ist
1. sometimes capitalized : an adherent or proponent of Protestant fundamentalism
2. : an extreme conservative ; especially : one who attacks any deviation from certain doctrines and practices he considers essential (as to a religious, political, or educational system)
a political fundamentalist … could reduce the shadings of any political controversy into a black-and-white conflict between free enterprise and socialism — Time
3. often capitalized : a member of a small dissident Mormon sect continuing to practice polygamy after its outlawry in 1890
II. | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ adjective
or fun·da·men·tal·is·tic | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|istik, -tēk
Etymology: fundamentalist (II) from fundamentalist (I) ; fundamentalistic from fundamentalist (I) + -ic
: of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism
comparing the neoorthodox with the fundamentalist position
a fundamentalist revival preacher
an economic outlook strongly fundamentalist in tone