belletrist

variants also belle-lettrist
Definition of belletristnext

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
  • Romance writers never write about their real life — right?
    Eloisa James, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026
  • They were briefly paused to allow the studios to finish negotiations with the writers’ union.
    Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Noun
  • Reflecting this, in 1726’s Gulliver’s Travels, the Irish litterateur Jonathan Swift satirized early scientists as buffoons.
    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
Noun
  • But Fleming leaps past other wry wordsmiths with his constant, unrelenting effort to wring every last drop of laughter out of every single premise.
    John Roy, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
  • An outstanding producer and a clever wordsmith.
    Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 27 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • One thing that bothered me in my career as a stylist was the cliché that the inspiration of the show is a certain period, and the designer did not see certain races in the casting.
    Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 11 May 2026
  • Edebiri and her stylist, Danielle Goldberg, are at their when playing in this high-low sandbox.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 11 May 2026
Noun
  • Texas’ pen ranks first in the league in ERA — by a lot — and has kept the club afloat.
    Zack Meisel, New York Times, 12 May 2026
  • Rex Reed, the longtime movie critic and celebrity interviewer known for his contrarian attitude and eloquent, vicious jabs of his pen, died Tuesday.
    Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Noun
  • While Goodman’s paradoxes and fantasies posed challenges to me as her biographer, with the advent of AI slop and ChatGPT, our courtship with illusion (and possibly delusion) is here to stay.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
  • Meacham is a historian and biographer.
    Time, Time, 12 May 2026
Noun
  • The project reflects a strong auteur and LGBTQ+ aligned slate touching on taboo subjects.
    Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 14 May 2026
  • The acclamation continued to build, and the Spanish auteur was overcome with gratitude — for a few moments.
    Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
Noun
  • Miley admires the Shakes enough to have invited their Sound & Color engineer, Shawn Everett, to join Something Beautiful’s production crew (also present: Cyrus’s punk-rock significant other, Maxx Morando; pop penman Michael Pollack; and members of indie-rock acts Foxygen and Alvvays).
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 June 2025
  • Its design by Leonardo Fioravanti, the prolific penman who created, among other Ferrari masterpieces, the Dino and 308 GTB, was an instant hit.
    Robert Ross, Robb Report, 28 Nov. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Belletrist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletrist. Accessed 17 May. 2026.

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