ecologist

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/iːˈkɒləd͡ʒɪst//ɪˈkɒləd͡ʒɪst/

noun

A scholar of ecology.

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

nounecologist (plural ecologists)

plural ecologists · alternative archaic œcologist

  1. A scholar of ecology.

    Ecologists say the months of intense and unprecedented fires will almost certainly push several species to extinction.

    2020 January 3, Graham Readfearn, “‘Silent death’: Australia's bushfires push countless species to extinction”, in The Guardian
    2 more examples

    Planting trees to combat climate change is a waste of time, according to a study by ecologists who say that most forests do not have any overall effect on global temperature, while those furthest from the equator could actually be making global warming worse.

    2006 December 15, Alok Jha, “Planting trees to save planet is pointless, say ecologists”, in The Guardian

    Once ecologists have more thoroughly identified indoor species, they hope to come up with strategies to scientifically manage homes, by eliminating harmful taxa and fostering species beneficial to our health.

    2013 May 27, Peter Andrey Smith, “Mapping the Great Indoors”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. uncommonAn environmentalist (one who advocates for the protection of the environment).

    Protest actions of this type served to take debate, and the Basque ecologists, onto the street and to encourage people to carry out principled actions such as the eco-sabotage at Itoiz.

    2003, Christopher Rootes, Environmental Protest in Western Europe, OUP, →ISBN, page 210
    2 more examples

    Despite the accomplishments and the vision of radical ecologists, however, most of the world's power is presently concentrated in economic systems and political institutions that bring about environmental deterioration.

    2005, Carolyn Merchant, Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World, 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN, page 254

    Second, throughout the 1970s, the party Executive guaranteed its support to numerous ecologists’ protest actions, and formed a number of broader umbrella organizations with ecology groups and smaller parties on the Left in order to facilitate communication, share ideas and strategies, and organize and promote common social initiatives on environmental matters.

    2016, Lorenzo Bosi, Marco Giugni, Katrin Uba, editors, The Consequences of Social Movements, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 274

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From eco- + -logist. The less common sense “environmentalist” might be from association with deep ecology, or influenced by Romance-language equivalents such as Spanish ecologista (“environmentalist”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan ecòleg
  • ecòlegA scientist who studies ecology
Chinese Mandarin 生態學家 /生态学家
  • 生態學家 /生态学家 (shēngtàixuéjiā)A scientist who studies ecology
Czech ekolog
  • ekologA scientist who studies ecology
Dutch ecoloog, ecologe
  • ecoloogA scientist who studies ecology
  • ecologeA scientist who studies ecology
Esperanto ekologo
  • ekologoA scientist who studies ecology
Finnish ekologi
  • ekologiA scientist who studies ecology
French écologue, écologiste
  • écologueA scientist who studies ecology
  • écologisteA scientist who studies ecology
German Ökologe, Ökologin
  • ÖkologeA scientist who studies ecology
  • ÖkologinA scientist who studies ecology
Hungarian ökológus
  • ökológusA scientist who studies ecology
Irish éiceolaí
  • éiceolaíA scientist who studies ecology
Italian ecologista, ecologo
  • ecologistaA scientist who studies ecology
  • ecologoA scientist who studies ecology
Japanese 環境学者
  • 環境学者 (kankyōgakusha)A scientist who studies ecology
Latvian ekologs, ekoloģe
  • ekologsA scientist who studies ecology
  • ekoloģeA scientist who studies ecology
Māori kaimātai hauropi
  • kaimātai hauropiA scientist who studies ecology
Polish ekolog
  • ekologA scientist who studies ecology
Portuguese ecologista, ecólogo
  • ecologistaA scientist who studies ecology
  • ecólogoA scientist who studies ecology
Romanian ecologist
  • ecologistA scientist who studies ecology
Russian эко́лог
  • эко́лог (ekólog)A scientist who studies ecology
Spanish ecólogo, ecóloga
  • ecólogoA scientist who studies ecology
  • ecólogaA scientist who studies ecology
Swedish ekolog
  • ekologA scientist who studies ecology
Ukrainian еко́лог
  • еко́лог (ekóloh)A scientist who studies ecology
Cite this entry
APA

ecologist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecologist

MLA

“ecologist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecologist. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ecologist,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ecologist.

Source: ecologist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.