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
  • Our mission is to support readers and writers of all ages and histories, and to build community through fiction.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Information for this article was contributed by Sammy Westfall of The Washington Post and staff writers of The Associated Press.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026
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
Noun
  • 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
  • Kerri comes from an improv background but is also a technical wordsmith.
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026
Noun
  • As her stylist Molly Dickson revealed via Instagram, the floor-length silk gown is from the Roberto Cavalli archives.
    — Madeline Dangmann, Glamour, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Watts regularly collaborates with stylist Jeanann Williams, who’s also worked with the likes of Meg Ryan, Leslie Mann and Abigail Spencer, among others.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Even small items like mason jars can be repurposed to hold pens and pencils or makeup brushes, the Salvation Army team says.
    — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 25 Sep. 2026
  • According to the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights survey from July, more than half of entrepreneurs use spreadsheets to record and manage transactions, and close to a third still rely on pen and paper.
    — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The lavish collection includes a foreword by royal journalist and biographer Tina Brown, who spent one-on-one time with the late princess during a lunch at the Four Seasons in New York just weeks before her death.
    — Sophie Dunne, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The film draws on previously unheard recorded conversations between Pratt and his biographer, Dominique Petitfaux, whose book of interviews with the artist supplies the film’s title.
    — JD Linville, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
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
Noun
  • 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 1 Oct. 2026.

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