Meanings
nounstatus quo warrior (plural status quo warriors)
plural status quo warriors · alternative initialism SQW
- derogatoryneologismgovernmentA person who zealously promotes or defends socially static or regressive policies; the antithesis of social justice warrior.
Scratch a critic of social justice warriors and a status quo warrior bleeds.
2020, John Faithful Hamer, Social Distancing: Poems and Aphorisms, Likeville Books1 more example
The SJW approach seems to have inspired a reaction from an equally impassioned group, the so-called “Status Quo Warriors” or SQWs [...]
2019, Applying Wisdom to Contemporary World Problems, Springer International Publishing, →ISBN, Hate Begets Hate; Violence Begets Violence, page 159
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
Cite this entry
APA
status quo warrior. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/status%20quo%20warrior
MLA
“status quo warrior.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/status%20quo%20warrior. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “status quo warrior,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/status%20quo%20warrior.
Source: status quo warrior on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.