Skip to main content
purist

purist

28 6.8
A person who wants rules and standards followed exactly
  • noun
  • /ˈpjʊrɪst/
translation icon : 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.

Autoplay Next

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
35 4.5

A person who wants everything perfect and dislikes small mistakes

values strict correctness but focuses less on flawless perfection
stickler
vspurist
21 7.9

A person who always wants things done exactly and carefully

prefers strict correctness as a principle not just fixed behavior
literalist
vspurist
4 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
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
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
8 4.3
hardliner
19 7.5
purist
28 6.8
moderate
85 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.