experimentalist

American  

[ik-sper-uh-ment-uhl-ist] / ɪkˌspɛr əˈmɛnt əl ɪst /

noun

1. a person who enjoys experimenting or trying new things, especially in the arts.

2. a scientist whose research relies on experiments or who is skilled in designing and conducting them.

3. a person who subscribes to philosophical empiricism.

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adjective

1. fond of experimenting or trying new things, especially in the arts.

2. of or relating to a scientific or philosophical emphasis on experiment or experience rather than theory.

Example Sentences

Prominent among these were ballets by Ms. Tharp, the one-time experimentalist modern-dance maker whose creations for ABT made up the opening bill.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

Jones is a bold experimentalist in his fiction, employing a mashup of literary genres, often with horror as a key element.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

However, in the particles examined, the shape of the cluster depends on how strongly the orientation of the particles influences their propulsion speed -- which can be stipulated by the experimentalist.

From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2023

These researchers disclosed their identities to Science: They are James Hamlin, a high-pressure experimentalist at the University of Florida, and Brad Ramshaw, an expert in superconductivity at Cornell University.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 27, 2023

“Lawrence the experimentalist and Oppenheimer the theoretical man formed about as strong a team as you could imagine in physics,” James Brady told an interviewer years later.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik