tree hugger

See also: treehugger and tree-hugger

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Compound of tree +‎ hugger. Popularized after the 1970's Chipko movement in India, who resorted to actual group hugging of trees in order to prevent deforestation.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

tree hugger (plural tree huggers)

  1. (slang, derogatory) An environmental campaigner, especially one who aims to restrict logging.
  2. (slang) A hippie.(Can we add an example for this sense?)
    • 2005, Erin Bell, Miss Diagnosed: Unraveling Chronic Stress:
      The idea of naturopathic doctors had always formed an image in my mind of old, bearded, tree-huggers who boiled roots and made poultices out of gross things to treat weird people who believed in that "natural" stuff.
    • 2014, Zoe Ambler, The Road of Darkness:
      She'd heard the term from American soldiers about these 'free love' people. 'Tree huggers' who reveled in sex, drink and drugs.
    • 2020, D. L. Kline, Simple Spirituality:
      Until fairly recently, even the idea of a MBS connection was dismissed by Western medicine as the province of New Age tree huggers, so it had very little mainstream credibility.

Synonyms

Translations
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