purist

[ pyoor-ist ]
See synonyms for purist on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who advocates the strictest application of the principles or standards in any field, or who insists on purity in language, style, etc.: When making hip-hop he began as a purist, putting most of the focus on solid lyrics and less on working with the music and production.

  2. Often Purist .Fine Arts. a practitioner of purism, an early 20th-century style of art characterized by the use of simple geometric forms and images evoking manufactured objects: The Purists saw their painting as the next step in the evolution of modern art after Cubism, which they found too decorative.

adjective
  1. relating to or being a purist:The purist view of theater design is that if there is a column or pillar anywhere, there is a problem.

Origin of purist

1
First recorded in 1695–1705; from French puriste, equivalent to pur(e) + -ist

Other words from purist

  • pu·ris·tic [pyoouh-rees-tik], /ˌpyʊəˈris tɪk/, pu·ris·ti·cal, adjective
  • pu·ris·ti·cal·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·pur·ist, noun, adjective
  • non·pu·ris·tic, adjective
  • un·pu·ris·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024