Meaning & use
-ist
A suffix added to a noun or verb to form a word for a person who practices, believes in, or is associated with something.
See it in a sentence
Adding -ist to 'art' and 'science' gives artist and scientist.
Someone who studies biology professionally and scientifically is called a biologist.
A note on using this word
-ist can denote an occupation (dentist), a follower of a doctrine (socialist), or, with -ism nouns, someone holding a particular view (racist).
Words with a similar meaning
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Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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