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

Information for this article was contributed by staff writers of The Associated Press and Constant Méheut of The New York Times.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
One of Bilton and Weiss’s signature new on-air hires is the conservative writer Ross Douthat, formerly an opinion columnist for the Times.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 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

Aaron Lee Tasjan, a close friend of Snider’s, will lead a tribute to the witty wordsmith that will also include John Craigie, Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Prophet, Steve Poltz and other guests.

— Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2026
Politically savvy, wickedly and playfully witty, and in close touch with humanity’s many facets, Roger Simon was among the most admired newspaper columnists of his generation at a time when that world was rich in that species of wordsmiths.

— Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of wordsmith

Noun

Kardashian’s look, which was put together in partnership with renowned stylist Law Roach, evoked old Hollywood, calling back to some of the more stylish starlets of the day like Jackie Kennedy à la her beehive hair.

— Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026
Comedian Jake Shane was also among the early birds, settling onto a couch covered in velvet Armani pillows near the entrance before linking up with Charlie Walker, an up-and-coming model and son of celebrity stylist Elizabeth Saltzman.

— Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of stylist

Noun

For about five days, the murres rotate between the drying pens — which blow warm air on the birds — and 80-degree pools of water inside the clinic.

— Stephanie Zappelli, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Of the 14 horses who live in immaculate pens on the property, the majority were rescued from kill pens.

— Lisa Hughes, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of pen

Noun

Decades later, long after Hemingway’s death, in 1961, Carlos Baker, Hemingway’s biographer, told Conrad about some of the letters deriding him.

— Stephen Bates, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Musk outlined this vision during a conversation with biographer Walter Isaacson on The Builders podcast.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of biographer

Noun

No franchise on this list is more indebted to a single auteur (Wes Craven) and a single actor (Robert Englund), who turned the saga of Freddy Krueger into something uniquely horrifying.

— Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of auteur

Browse Nearby Words

belles

belletrist

belletristic

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Belletrist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletrist. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of belletrist

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

emissary

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes