crusader
Vigorous change advocate
A crusader is someone who campaigns vigorously for a cause, typically a moral or social one: a crusader for civil rights, anti-corruption crusaders.
The term implies passionate, sometimes aggressive advocacy.
It derives from the medieval Crusades—military expeditions to reclaim the Holy Land—but modern use rarely carries religious connotations.
The word can be admiring or dismissive depending on the speaker's view of the cause.
Honored mounted soldier
- paladinHeroic knightly defender
- soldierArmed forces member
- cavalryMounted military force
- swordsmanshipSkill with bladed weapons
lance · shield · helm · armor · fortress · siege · battalion · squire
Twelfth-century sultan, Jerusalem's captor
- Richard the LionheartPlantagenet crusader king
- JerusalemTriply sacred ancient capital
- AcreNorthern Israeli port city
- OutremerCrusader states collectively
Levant · Saracen · Byzantium · Holy Land · pilgrimage · papal bull · chainmail · siege
Public cause supporter
- reformerAgent of institutional improvement
- campaignerOne who advocates publicly
- championTop competitor, or advocate
- protesterOne who publicly opposes
lobbyist · whistleblower · agitator · demonstrator · marcher · boycotter · petitioner · progressive
Overly zealous person
- extremistOne holding fringe views
- fundamentalistStrict original-doctrine adherent
- militantAggressive cause supporter
- hardlinerStrict policy advocate
true believer · dogmatist · radical · fervent · obsessive · uncompromising · ideologue · purist
knight
Honored mounted soldier
swordsmanship · lance · shield · helm · armor · fortress · siege · battalion · squire · bannerman
Saladin
Twelfth-century sultan, Jerusalem's captor
- Richard the LionheartPlantagenet crusader king
- JerusalemTriply sacred ancient capital
- AcreNorthern Israeli port city
Outremer · Levant · Saracen · Byzantium · Holy Land · pilgrimage · papal bull · chainmail · siege · Antioch
advocate
Public cause supporter
- reformerAgent of institutional improvement
- campaignerOne who advocates publicly
- championTop competitor, or advocate
protester · lobbyist · whistleblower · agitator · demonstrator · marcher · boycotter · petitioner · progressive · environmentalist
fanatic
Overly zealous person
- extremistOne holding fringe views
- fundamentalistStrict original-doctrine adherent
- militantAggressive cause supporter
hardliner · true believer · dogmatist · radical · fervent · obsessive · uncompromising · ideologue · purist · firebrand
pilgrim
Religious journey-taker
infidel · Christendom · papacy · bishop · cleric · sacred · doctrine · heresy · inquisition · proselytize
- helpersnurse, helper, volunteer, aide, assistant
- ancient warriorsgladiator, spartan, samurai, viking, hoplite
- holy warriorspaladin, holy knight, jihadi, mujahideen, warrior monk
- Baltic CrusadesLivonian Order, military orders, knightly orders, Prussians, Estonians
- heroeshero, heroes, heroine, heroines, superhero
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
crusaderbystander
One who observes nearby
apathetic · fence-sitter · dabbler · dilettante · nonmilitant
crusaderconservative
Cautious about altering customs
traditionalist · reactionary · preservationist · maintainer · incrementalist
crusaderappeaser
One who concedes to pacify
compromiser · pacifist · peacemaker · pragmatist · relativist
- caped crusaderCloaked vigilante hero
- moral crusaderAdvocate for ethical standards
- moral crusadesCampaigns promoting ethical standards
- First Crusade1096 expedition to Jerusalem
- Last CrusadeConcluding religious military expedition
- Albigensian CrusadeChurch war on Cathars