a person who favors a moderate approach to the achievement of a set of goals or who holds minimal expectations for the success of a program.
a practitioner of minimalism in music or art.
of, relating to, or characteristic of minimalism.
being or offering no more than what is required or essential.
a minimalist program for tax reform.
a person advocating a minimal policy, style, technique, action, etc
a minimal artist
a member of the faction of the Social Revolutionaries that advocated immediate postrevolutionary democracy
a less common name for a Menshevik
What does minimalist mean? Minimalist is most generally used as an adjective describing a style or approach that uses a small number of elements. Minimalist can also be used to refer to a person who favors a style or approach. More specifically, minimalist can refer to an artist who practices or uses Minimalism, which can refer to a type of painting or sculpture (sometimes called minimal art), music, or other art form. Art forms labeled minimalist typically use the simplest and fewest elements with the goal of creating the maximum effect. The term minimalism can also be used in a more general way to refer to a minimalist style or approach. The related adjective minimalistic is used to describe something that is stripped down to its most essential elements or uses only what is needed. Both minimalist and minimalistic can be used to describe things that are simplified and include only the most basic components, without embellishment. Example: Jane says she’s a minimalist when it comes to interior design, but to me it just looks like her house is missing a lot of furniture.
1905–10; in political use < French minimaliste ( minimal, -ist ), translation of Russian men'shevík Menshevik; subsequent uses perhaps recoinage with minimal, -ist
When you call a person a minimalist, you're describing their interest in keeping things very simple. A minimalist prefers the minimal amount or degree of something. In art history, the minimalists were artists whose work involved extremely simple gestures and ideas. The art they created is also referred to as minimalist. A white canvas with one black line might be a typical minimalist painting. But anyone who likes things very simple could be called a minimalist. A president who takes a hands-off approach to policy, a composer who only plays one note, a designer who puts only a bed in a bedroom: they're all minimalists.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Its all-white dress code for players, minimalist court-side advertising and association with strawberries and cream all remain fiercely guarded traditions.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
So when Burnham decided to break with tradition and make his inaugural address Monday accompanied by only a minimalist microphone stand, a vocal faction of the electorate worried they’d lose more than the lectern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Now, after much mockery and controversy, minimalist footwear is hotter than ever.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
But in reality the Auroville that now attracts thousands of tourists and yoga enthusiasts developed in a more organic way in keeping with the minimalist ecological principles of its people.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
The room has Harold’s minimalist look to it: the twin bed with plain white sheets and white blanket, polished wood floors, a bleached oakwood chair, and nothing on the slanted gray walls.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
Seeing themselves through her eyes has created a blossoming self-hatred: “Our room? Is sordid and bare and mean. Minimalist, she calls it,” Solange says glumly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The solid but shallow steel box, weighing in at a reported 1.3 tons, was an example of a recently emerging, stripped-down Minimalist aesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025
Minimalist, clean lines were a big part of autumn and winter looks, but maximum volume is in for 2025.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2024
He preferred to call himself not a Minimalist but a matterist, because his work emphasized a strict fidelity to materials, an effort to let them express themselves as straightforwardly as possible.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Minimalist, lots of clean lines, good for my state of mind.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
"Man of the microbes we found were either minimalists: ultra-streamlined with one job that it does very well alongside a close consortium of collaborators, or it can do a little bit of everything," Osburn said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023
The good news, for symbol minimalists, is that Washington has only around 23.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2022
Whether paired with a neutral sofa or jazzed up with a vibrant throw pillow or two, the piece can be styled to appeal to minimalists and maximalists.
From Washington Post ● May 19, 2022
“Dirtknock” samples British minimalists Young Marble Giants — and adds a boom-bap rhythm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2021
These aesthetic lights have filtered usefully into his own pianism, especially when it comes to playing works by American minimalists like John Adams.
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2020
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
