The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CRUSADER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
R
U
S
A
D
E
R
More clues leading to the result CRUSADER
- Sacred travelling around about biblical city? I fought for that
- Campaigner, more coarse, when held up
- Old religious warrior, more primitive, around S Africa
- South America captured by less refined warrior
- Reads badly to vintage campaigner
- Councillor, supported by America, rejecting left-wing activist
- Champion‘s more natural without it
- What Simon de Montfort became whilst on the way back to stab vulgar king
- Bloody bow falls over, catching American campaigner!
- Champion‘s card sure to be corrected
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "activist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case activist = crusader.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does CRUSADER mean?
CRUSADER noun- A fighter in the medieval Crusades.
- A person engaged in a crusade.