someone who campaigns for people to have the right to vote, especially those in the UK and US who campaigned for women's right to vote in the early 1900s. Suffragists used only lawful methods, while suffragettes were prepared to break the law in order to support their demands.
Millicent Garrett Fawcett was a leading suffragist and campaigner for equal rights for women.
An active participant in the suffragist movement, she motivated many women to register to vote.
This meaning is based on one submitted to the Open Dictionary by: Javad Hekayati from Islamic Republic of Iran on 19/07/2016