BELLETRIST Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

belletrist

noun

variants also belle-lettrist

Definition of belletrist

as in writer

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

nonauthor

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of belletrist The philologists, unlike the belletrists, were methodical and systematic, and given to expounding those methods and systems in lengthy treatises. — Evan Kindley, The New York Review of Books, 16 Feb. 2023 Harrison is almost the textbook example of a belletrist—someone who writes essays more for their aesthetic effect than anything else. — Bill Heavey, WSJ, 16 Sep. 2022 Locke the glossy belletrist gave way to Locke the fellow-traveller, Locke the savvy champion of proletarian realism. — Tobi Haslett, The New Yorker, 11 May 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belletrist

Noun

Inspired by the sensibility of a tantalizingly idiosyncratic writer-performer, the play offered Greenspan the opportunity to star in a Greenspan-esque work not of his own devising.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Every mortgage article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of the products.

— Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 8 July 2026

Definition of writer

Noun

Clearly, by now — that is, 1835 — science had done enough to prove itself in the eyes of the litterateurs.

— Thomas Moynihan, Big Think, 7 Mar. 2025
The book was first published anonymously, and its authorship is consequently uncertain, though usually attributed to a minor poet and litterateur named Wu Cheng’en.

— Washington Post, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2021

Definition of litterateur

Noun

Expert stylist and salon owner Nunzio Saviano says the key to big ‘90s hair, sans a heated round brush, is working on partially damp hair.

— Odeya Pinkus, InStyle, 8 July 2026
Although the actress plays a bride in that lead role, her real-life wedding photos have not been shared publicly, and her stylist Law Roach said the AI ones don’t even come close.

— Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 8 July 2026

Definition of stylist

Noun

Federal officials are using helicopters and ground vehicles to drive the horses into a large catch pen with holding corrals.

— Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
On July 8, contract workers will use helicopters to round up 500 of the horses and cart them away to holding pens.

— Steve Searles, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Definition of pen

Noun

According to biographer William Shawcross, author of The Queen Mother, Elizabeth finally said yes in 1923.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026
Madonna never set out to become a classic British lady of the manor, however, until fate intervened when she was introduced to Hugo Vickers, Cecil Beaton's suave biographer, through a mutual friend in 1998.

— Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 July 2026

Definition of biographer

Noun

Madonna was stopped dead in her tracks by the strapping 30-year-old auteur of the nouvelle vague gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, an eye-popping directorial debut.

— Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 July 2026
Creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest lend an auteur’s touch to the material, creating something that stands on its own while still bearing some of the MCU’s crowd pleasing flourishes.

— Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 15 June 2026

Definition of auteur

Browse Nearby Words

belles

belletrist

belletristic

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Belletrist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletrist. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of belletrist

noun

Example Sentences

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