as in writers
a person who writes a newspaper or magazine column
The columnist is known to take provocative positions that often shape the opinions of her readers. a gossip columnist
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Recent Examples of columnists
Stats, score updates and commentary Follow live commentary from our team of reporters and columnists, including The Star’s Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian in Sao Paulo, below.
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Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Our Until Saturday newsletter is a banger all throughout the season, and our columnists are Heisman short-listers with the pen.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Two of the state’s biggest columnists jumped into the fray.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
Boy Scouts marched, as did fraternities, high-school classes, postmen, and newspaper columnists.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
Reporters avoid giving their opinion, unlike us columnists.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 7 Aug. 2025
The following 17 Times staff writers and columnists, listed alphabetically, share their favorite sports stories from 2024.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
With 2024 coming to a close, Tribune writers, columnists and critics took a look back at their favorite moments of the year, from the stage performances that captivated us to the books that kept us turning the page and much more.
—Chicago Tribune, 14 Dec. 2024
White columnists wrote him open letters, processing their own feelings about race, alternating between flattery and belligerence.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Our Until Saturday newsletter is a banger all throughout the season, and our columnists are Heisman short-listers with the pen.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Two of the state’s biggest columnists jumped into the fray.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
Boy Scouts marched, as did fraternities, high-school classes, postmen, and newspaper columnists.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
Reporters avoid giving their opinion, unlike us columnists.
—Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 7 Aug. 2025
The following 17 Times staff writers and columnists, listed alphabetically, share their favorite sports stories from 2024.
—Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
With 2024 coming to a close, Tribune writers, columnists and critics took a look back at their favorite moments of the year, from the stage performances that captivated us to the books that kept us turning the page and much more.
—Chicago Tribune, 14 Dec. 2024
White columnists wrote him open letters, processing their own feelings about race, alternating between flattery and belligerence.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for columnists
Noun
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Yet that hardly mattered, since what was forming was a community that the players now liken to the artists and writers of Paris in the ’20s.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2025
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These writers will work under the latest Public Television Freelance Agreement, which the WGA East ratified in December after a lengthy and sometimes contentious negotiation cycle with PBS, narrowly avoiding a strike.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The rapidly changing publishing environment has opened opportunities for players like Publishizer, as well as crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where authors also run preorder campaigns.—
Elaine Pofeldt,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The authors of the Cheyava Falls paper spent a year in the peer-review process, and during that time their discovery was publicly known.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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According to the Army, the media review emails were mistakenly sent to reporters, but the information in them is publicly available.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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Carter was not available for comment during the three days reporters were in the locker room.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday referred journalists' questions to Russia's Defense Ministry.—
Will Gretsky,
ABC News,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Columnists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/columnists. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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