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aerialist

aerialist

2 8.5
A performer who swings on ropes like a trapeze doing acrobatic tricks high above the ground
  • noun
  • /ˈɛəriəlɪst/
translation icon : aéreo
  • The talented aerialist performed breathtaking acrobatics high above the audience during the circus show.
  • trapeze aerialist
  • flying aerialist
  • aerialist artist

Examples

  • I was twenty when I followed away from my town a trapeze family, aerialists, a group of beautiful winged people: mother, father, son, and daughter.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We caught up with the aerialist last week to find out more about the Aerial Arts Showcase she's putting together—with some help from her friends.

    Blog text (25)
  • He was the greatest aerialist that ever lived.

  • This is the place in the story where the aerialists realize there is no net and there never has been.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • What do the Fletchers think of the new generation of aerialists?

    Blog text (10)
  • The aerialists are balanced on thin wires above a pure abyss.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Trojan Original is a classically trained dancer and aerialist and has been involved in burlesque for a number of years.

    Blog text (4)
  • Bonus fact: Earlier this year, aerialist Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on a high wire suspended nearly 200 feet (60 meters) above the water's surface.

    Blog text (5)
  • They are master aerialists, darting and diving and free-falling high or low over the lake, their forked tails splayed and turning as a keel.

    Blog text (22)
  • During her training, the young aerialist practiced her routine on the trapeze every evening.

Synonyms

acrobat
vsaerialist
22 4.4

A person who does skilled, risky moves like flips and tightrope walking

specializes in high apparatus performances above ground not general acts
tightrope walker
vsaerialist
2 5.5

A performer who walks and balances on a thin rope high above the ground

focuses on many aerial devices beyond tight or slack rope
circus acrobat
vsaerialist
1 3.7

A person who does physical tricks and jumps in a circus show

emphasizes work on suspended apparatus above ground rather than circus context
ropedancer
vsaerialist
8.3

A performer who balances on a rope high above the ground

focuses on various suspended apparatus, not only rope acts
ropewalker
vsaerialist
8.3

A person who walks on a rope high above the ground and does tricks

is broader covering trapeze and other suspended apparatus beyond rope

How High

aerialist
2 8.5
acrobat
22 4.4

Surface Forms

aerialist singular
aerialists plural

Morphology

aerialist = aerial (semi-transparent) = air + ial + ist

The word is formed in a regular way from 'aerial' plus '-ist' to mean a person associated with aerial performance.

Etymology

The word aerialist comes from aerial ('air') and the ending -ist ('one who does something'), so an aerialist is a performer who works 'in the air', like someone swinging from a trapeze high above the ground.