diarist

American

[dahy-uh-rist] / ˈdaɪ ə rɪst /

noun

a person who keeps a diary.

diarist British

/ ˈdaɪərɪst /

noun

a person who keeps or writes a diary, esp one that is subsequently published

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

diaristic adjective

Etymology

Origin of diarist

First recorded in 1810–20; diar(y) + -ist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Samuel Pepys knew him; the British diarist thought him “a perfidious rogue.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

But not for nothing has she been called "pop's greatest diarist" and "the maestro of memory".

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

Everyone’s favorite analog diarist is smack dab in the middle of a universe ruled by tech.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025

Hur said there is “some reason to think” Carter and another enthusiastic diarist, George H.W.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2024

For by rendering feelings in words that a stranger can understand—words that belong to the public, this Other—the young diarist no longer need feel ah alone or eccentric.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023