relativist

American

[rel-uh-tuh-vist] / ˈrɛl ə tə vɪst /

noun

an adherent or advocate of relativism or of the principle of relativity.

Etymology

Origin of relativist

First recorded in 1860–65; relative + -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.

All of these relativist tools have been on display in the last week.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

My brother accused me of being a moral relativist.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2023

Many people interpreted Dr. Latour’s position as relativist — as asserting that there was no such thing as objective truth.

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2022

It turned out that subjects in the relativist condition were more likely to cheat in a lottery and to state that they would be willing to steal than those in the objectivist condition.

From Scientific American • Oct. 16, 2019

This amounts to an anti-foundationalist but far from relativist view of science.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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