as in musicians
a person who plays a musical instrument
he excels as a conductor, a composer, and as an instrumentalist
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Recent Examples of instrumentalists
The best of San Diego Unified School District’s middle and high school instrumentalists are coming together later this month for a special performance in downtown San Diego.
—
Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
The latter features performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, instrumentalists and other creators actively working in the recording industry.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Feb. 2026
And the same can be said for the other recent Megadeth albums – Mustaine’s vocals often feel like a burden to the songs, and the band’s instrumentalists do most of the heavy lifting, including Mustaine himself.
—Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The nonprofit's competitions are open to junior, intermediate and advanced levels for instrumentalists, vocalists, duets and chamber ensembles.
—Beth Reese Cravey, Florida Times-Union, 20 Jan. 2026
Since Chuck Berry’s first hits, rock’s most famous instrumentalists have been lead guitarists, who step out in front of the band with flashy solos.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Yet, McBride — one of the top instrumentalists and band leaders in all of jazz today — also delivered the goods during his own 75-minute set with his versatile band Ursa Major.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
There may have been better singers, dancers, instrumentalists, performers and visual artists — but absolutely no one combined those talents as vividly as Prince did.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Headliners include perennial favorite folk-rockers Gaelic Storm, Dublin folk quartet The High Kings, modern Scottish instrumentalists Talisk, young folk singer Emma Langford and fiddler Eileen Ivers, among others.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 Aug. 2025
Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2026
The latter features performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, instrumentalists and other creators actively working in the recording industry.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Feb. 2026
And the same can be said for the other recent Megadeth albums – Mustaine’s vocals often feel like a burden to the songs, and the band’s instrumentalists do most of the heavy lifting, including Mustaine himself.
—Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The nonprofit's competitions are open to junior, intermediate and advanced levels for instrumentalists, vocalists, duets and chamber ensembles.
—Beth Reese Cravey, Florida Times-Union, 20 Jan. 2026
Since Chuck Berry’s first hits, rock’s most famous instrumentalists have been lead guitarists, who step out in front of the band with flashy solos.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Yet, McBride — one of the top instrumentalists and band leaders in all of jazz today — also delivered the goods during his own 75-minute set with his versatile band Ursa Major.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
There may have been better singers, dancers, instrumentalists, performers and visual artists — but absolutely no one combined those talents as vividly as Prince did.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Headliners include perennial favorite folk-rockers Gaelic Storm, Dublin folk quartet The High Kings, modern Scottish instrumentalists Talisk, young folk singer Emma Langford and fiddler Eileen Ivers, among others.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instrumentalists
Noun
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That orientation had transferred to the cultural industries over time, with filmmakers, musicians and drama producers gradually becoming more attuned to international audiences alongside domestic ones.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2026
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The ageless Gen-X king and his millennial foil star in director John Carney’s latest movie about musicians, Power Ballad.—
Jada Yuan,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Taken together, these projects demonstrate what artists can accomplish outside of traditional institutional frameworks.—
Jane Horowitz,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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Each of the coaches — Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and Legend — will be able to pick 10 artists from the blind auditions to guide through the rest of the show.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Alaska, Hawaiian are consistent performers The AQR also singled out Alaska Airlines as the steadiest performer in the industry.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instrumentalists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instrumentalists. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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