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 competition was open to instrumentalists, vocalists and groups of all nationalities.
—
Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2025
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
Broadway's Ruthie Ann Miles is backed by almost 500 singers and instrumentalists; Dennis Haysbert does the readings.
—Mike Hughes, Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Nov. 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
Skeptical in the sense that TOOL are four members, and despite Keenan’s eagerness to put out more TOOL music soon, the band’s instrumentalists have to be on the same page as well.
—Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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
Vega is also currently busy at work with Elements of Life, his longstanding live outfit that includes his wife Anané and a sprawling collection of instrumentalists.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2025
Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2025
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
Broadway's Ruthie Ann Miles is backed by almost 500 singers and instrumentalists; Dennis Haysbert does the readings.
—Mike Hughes, Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Nov. 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
Skeptical in the sense that TOOL are four members, and despite Keenan’s eagerness to put out more TOOL music soon, the band’s instrumentalists have to be on the same page as well.
—Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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
Vega is also currently busy at work with Elements of Life, his longstanding live outfit that includes his wife Anané and a sprawling collection of instrumentalists.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instrumentalists
Noun
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Born to a long line of musicians and entertainers (their great-grandparents were vaudevillians), Gunnar and Matt started writing music at age 6, shooting to fame in their own right after launching hard rock duo Nelson in the early 1980s.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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From there, however, the video leaves The Doors’ native SoCal and heads off around the world to draw upon musical contributions from more than 20 musicians and dancers from eight different countries.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Marginalized and unknown artists and writers have become a standard of failure.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Iglesias, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, is widely considered the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Jan. 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 15 Jan. 2026.
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