variants
also belle-lettrist
as in writer
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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
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
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Over the years, writers from around the world have tried their hands at using soccer as a backdrop for memorable fiction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
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Staff writer Jeff Horseman contributed to this report.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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To bring the concept to life, Zegna relocated a large team from Italy, including tailors, stylists, brand ambassadors and creative staff.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
8 June 2026
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The dress was one of six custom outfits assembled for the tour by longtime stylist Law Roach, who also collaborated with Grande on her Sweetener Tour.—
Daisy Maldonado,
InStyle,
8 June 2026
Noun
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Meanwhile, the teens framed for Josette’s murder spent some 45 years, combined, in maximum pens.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2026
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The grip is particularly helpful for those learning to write or having trouble holding thinner pens and pencils.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
8 June 2026
Noun
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Romano’s sturdy book may not stint on examples of Mary’s bad behavior—including a ferociously jealous verbal assault, near the end of the war, on the wife of a prominent Union general—but the biographer keeps tilting against those who slighted Mary in even the most superficial ways.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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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
Noun
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In the decade since her public coming-out as a trans woman — after years spent as a reclusive auteur around whom basic physical evidence barely existed — Wachowski has done a bit more to put herself in a public spotlight.—
Nick Newman,
IndieWire,
1 June 2026
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The 2026 Cannes Film Festival was a little quieter than previous editions, to be sure—there was a dearth of Hollywood blockbusters, some more middling work from respected auteurs, and a few genuine head-scratchers.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
23 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Belletrist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletrist. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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