purist

[ pyoor-ist ]

/ ˈpyʊər ɪst /

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See synonyms for purist on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

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

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.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of purist

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, adjectivepu·ris·ti·cal·ly, adverbhy·per·pur·ist, noun, adjectivenon·pu·ris·tic, adjective

un·pu·ris·tic, adjective

Words nearby purist

purify, Purim, purine, puriri, purism, purist, Puritan, Puritan ethic, puritanical, Puritanism, Puritans

How to use purist in a sentence

So how as a purist can you really sit at the table with them?
The Hot Designer Who Hates Fashion: VK Nagrani Triumphs His Own Way|Tom Teodorczuk|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was like, he was the anti-Christ and we came from a snobby, purist direction.
How Questlove Is Bringing Music Back to Television|Kevin Fallon|July 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After all, radically purist ideologies need to be sheltered from the vagaries of the world, and they can be expensive to maintain.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?|Michael Schulson|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Despite a history of savvy political tactics, he's been painted as a progressive purist.
The Week’s Best Longreads for August 31, 2013|David Sessions|August 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He's a conservative, but not a purist; he's a conviction politician—and a pragmatist too.
A Thinner Chris Christie Still Faces Big Political Challenges|Robert Shrum|May 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He died at the age of forty, the greatest literary purist the country had yet produced.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
Is not the age of Nicaea a good time for precedents, O purist in matters ecclesiastical?
The Cradle of Mankind|W.A. Wigram
The above-quoted writer in the New York Press is a purist in vocabulary, no less than in grammar.
America To-day, Observations and Reflections|William Archer
It has been said that on occasion his work contained passages a purist would not have passed.
From Capetown to Ladysmith|G. W. Steevens
She is not a bit of a purist and thinks more of a good thought forcefully put than of a slip in the way of a split infinitive.
Back at School with the Tucker Twins|Nell Speed