aesthete

[es-theet, ees-]

noun

1. a person who has or professes to have refined sensitivity toward the beauties of art or nature.

   Synonyms: connoisseur

2. a person who affects great love of art, music, poetry, etc., and indifference to practical matters.

   Synonyms: dilettante

aesthete

/ ˈiːsθiːt /

noun

1. a person who has or who affects a highly developed appreciation of beauty, esp in poetry and the visual arts

Other Word Forms

• hyperaesthete noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of aesthete¹

1880–85; < Greek aisthētḗs one who perceives, equivalent to aisthē- (variant stem of aisthánesthai to perceive) + -tēs noun suffix denoting agent

Word History and Origins

Origin of aesthete¹

C19: back formation from _aesthetics

Example Sentences

Visually and musically, Grimes was holding up a mirror to Tumblr aesthetes.

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Unforced but ever-present in Reichardt’s mise-en-scène, they remind us that this bored aesthete’s misadventure is an especially empty way to buck conformity.

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For aesthetes, his direct and uncompromising brand of football is unwatchable.

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He added: "Carpenter is above all a brilliant aesthete, her videos and album artwork uniformly inspired."

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Ludwig II of Bavaria was a zealous aesthete with enough personal wealth to treat part of what is now Germany as an architectural canvas.

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