ESSAYIST Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

essayist

noun

Definition of essayist

as in novelist

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 essayist There also lies the influence of Chilean essayist Pedro Lemebel, braided into Delgado Lopera’s narrative of a father, Ignacio; his 12-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Valentina; and his trans mother, Mamadora Eléctrica, inspired by the author’s own trans mother, Adela Vázquez. — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026 Kramer, a playwright and essayist who had been covering AIDS since the beginning through journalism, had co-founded the non-profit Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982. — Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 3 June 2026 Senna is a novelist and essayist. — Time, 27 May 2026 Gabrielle Glancy is a poet, novelist, and essayist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The American Poetry Review. — Gabrielle Glancy, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for essayist

Recent Examples of Synonyms for essayist

Noun

True to form, the story is narrated by an unscrupulous wanna-be novelist named Bret Easton Ellis (Igby Rigney), a closet case lusting away for the new hunk at his cruel prep school.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
Anna Juul is a screenwriter and novelist, satirist and board member with the Danish Mental Health Fund.

— Sabrina Jaszi, The Dial, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of novelist

Noun

The theater was built by songwriter, dramatist and playwright Arthur Hammerstein to honor his father, Oscar Hammerstein I, and opened as Hammerstein’s Theater in 1927.

— Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
In transcripts of hearings of the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Garber finds an upwelling of voices from the literary past, among them Christopher Marlowe, the revenge dramatist Thomas Kyd, and, from first to last, Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Shakespeare.

— Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026

Definition of dramatist

Noun

To be a good poet or pamphleteer, like Thomas Paine or Samuel Johnson, requires a kind of day-to-day daring, with triumphs made in conversation and correspondence; a good banker or stockbroker makes his in columns of numbers.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2026
Even when insulted or thwarted – by Spanish intrigues on the Florida frontier, by British seizures in the Caribbean, by pamphleteers accusing him of being a monarch in disguise – Washington’s tone remained measured.

— Washington Post, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2026

Definition of pamphleteer

Noun

Harvey is a comedian and satirist who, as Count Binface, has run against three prime ministers in the past decade.

— Fatima Al-Kassab, NPR, 10 July 2026
Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher, center left, applauds for John Mellencamp during the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher.

— Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of satirist

Noun

Anna Juul is a screenwriter and novelist, satirist and board member with the Danish Mental Health Fund.

— Sabrina Jaszi, The Dial, 4 Aug. 2026
John Logan, the Skyfall and Michael screenwriter who also created the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, created the series and will serve as showrunner.

— Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of screenwriter

Browse Nearby Words

essaying

essayist

essayists

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Essayist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essayist. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of essayist

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on essayist

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

nurture

Popular in Grammar & Usage

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

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

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

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?

Popular

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes