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purist

purist

27 6.8
A person who wants rules and standards followed exactly
  • noun
  • /ˈpjʊrɪst/
: purista
  • As a purist, he believes that traditional methods should always be followed.
  • purist might call
  • purist may say

Well, yeah, you could, but but if you're a purist, the answer's no.

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Examples

  • The purist critic argued that the film strayed too far from the original novel.

  • But for my passion projects, I guess I'm a bit of a purist.

  • In other words, I do not believe in the purist form of consultation in which the client is never seen.

    Academic text (1991)
  • How many of our recent studies rely on a purist definition of reading?

    Academic text (2014)
  • Yeah, I'm a bit of a purist.

  • But they were lucky to have such purists still on board here.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He's sort of a purist.

  • He's awesome, is a true purist in this space.

  • Conservatives of various kinds lose by being philosophical purists, and Democrats win by party solidarity.

    Blog text (12)
  • You're going to have the purists who say I don't want the government involved, that that voice is getting quieter and smaller.

Synonyms

perfectionist
vspurist
34 4.5

A person who wants everything perfect and dislikes small mistakes

values strict correctness but focuses less on flawless perfection
stickler
vspurist
19 7.9

A person who always wants things done exactly and carefully

prefers strict correctness as a principle not just fixed behavior
literalist
vspurist
3 8.1

A person who takes words only in their exact meaning and ignores other meanings

applies strict correctness to style and practice not only literal meaning
pedant
vspurist
  • Offensive
2 8.6

A person who cares too much about small rules and corrects others often

aims for correct or precise forms but often focuses on trivial points
prescriptivist
vspurist
1 8.7

A person who supports strict rules about language and grammar

insists on correct or precise forms broadly rather than only formal rules
precisionist
vspurist
1 8.8

A person who pays close attention to small details and exact measurements

focuses on correctness and style more than only numerical exactness
grammar cop
vspurist
  • Informal
1 7.3

A person who often corrects other people's grammar in a strict way

cares about correctness broadly rather than only policing grammar errors

Antonyms

A person who does not follow the usual customs or rules of society

Compounds

9.8

A person who prefers old-style rock and rejects newer types of music

How Purist

fanatic
18 4.3
hardliner
17 7.5
purist
27 6.8
moderate
114 4.6
pragmatist
16 6.9

Surface Forms

purist singular
purists plural

Morphology

purist = pure (transparent) = pur + ist

The suffix '-ist' clearly indicates a person who practices or is concerned with something, making the meaning derivable from 'pure'.

Etymology

Purist comes from the word pure, which means 'not mixed' or 'clean', and the ending -ist that names a person. So a purist is someone who wants things kept 'pure' and exact, which is why they insist on strict rules about language, style, or practice.