experimentalist

noun ex·per·i·men·tal·ist \ ik-ˌsper-ə-ˈmen-tə-ləst also -ˌspir- \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Definition of experimentalist

: one who experiments; specifically : a person conducting scientific experiments

Recent Examples of experimentalist from the Web

For instance, an experimentalist might create two particles that fly off in opposing directions.

— george musser, Scientific American, "What Is Spacetime?," 8 May 2018
Here are two disarming alto saxophonists working in different lanes of modern jazz: Tim Berne, a runic experimentalist with a slippery tone, and Caroline Davis, whose own original music takes the form of carefully threaded, fluent post-bop.

— New York Times, "14 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in NYC This Weekend," 26 Apr. 2018
Some validate Machado’s reputation as a missing link in the lineage of comic experimentalists running from Laurence Sterne to John Barth.

— sam sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: The Ungraspable ‘Miracle’ of Machado de Assis," 28 June 2018
On Sunday, June 3, Orindal hosts a showcase at the Landland print shop (1735 N. Ashland) with local singer-songwriter and recent signee Gia Margaret, Tucson experimentalist Karima Walker, and Advance Base.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Prog paragons Cheer-Accident drop an album that contains multitudes," 29 May 2018
For a theorist, an observer or an experimentalist, dark matter is a promising target for research.

— lisa randall, Scientific American, "What Is Dark Matter?," 8 May 2018
All four musicians have come through the tutelage of the alto saxophonist and rhythmic experimentalist Steve Coleman, and Mr. Okazaki’s tunes offer their own inquiries into and around Mr. Coleman’s strategies.

— giovanni russonello, New York Times, "March in Live Jazz: 5 Standout Shows," 30 Mar. 2018
Olson has recently worked on pieces based on or inspired by such diverse sources as the medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen and contemporary electronic pop experimentalist Grimes.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Three-Day Women Composers Festival At Various Hartford Venues," 31 Mar. 2018
In particular, theorists have predicted—and experimentalists have confirmed—that certain insulating solids can, counterintuitively, conduct electricity thanks to topological properties.

— davide castelvecchi, Scientific American, "Physicists Harness Twisted Mathematics to Make Powerful Laser," 5 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'experimentalist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.