as in fanatic
a person who has very strong ideas about what is correct or acceptable and who usually opposes changes to traditional methods and practices
a new style of play that offended the sport's purists a language purist who is always looking to correct the speech of others
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Recent Examples of purist
The Odyssey trailer that’s upsetting some purists?
—
Rima Parikh, Vulture, 10 May 2026
Some include fruit that purists might not approve of, but that should be tried.
—Victoria Spencer, Martha Stewart, 30 Apr. 2026
That song’s twangful snarl — wonderfully sung by Clark, a star recording artist in her own right — is a reminder that these insurgents are also preservationists, capable of delivering old-fashioned pleasures to please the purists.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
But purists have seen the sport change as prize money has soared.
—Sharyn Alfonsi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purist
Rima Parikh, Vulture, 10 May 2026
Some include fruit that purists might not approve of, but that should be tried.
—Victoria Spencer, Martha Stewart, 30 Apr. 2026
That song’s twangful snarl — wonderfully sung by Clark, a star recording artist in her own right — is a reminder that these insurgents are also preservationists, capable of delivering old-fashioned pleasures to please the purists.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
But purists have seen the sport change as prize money has soared.
—Sharyn Alfonsi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purist
Noun
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Massachusetts-born, Robinson will be playing on home soil in front of friends, family and national team fanatics, an honor every player dreams of but only very few get.—
Jim Sciutto,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
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As a soccer fanatic and big Netherlands fan, Duncan says this is a dream come true.—
Briseida Holguin,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Noun
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In fact, the very term anti-Semitism was popularized by Wilhelm Marr, a German nationalist who sought to distinguish his anti-Jewish ideology from the crass bigotry of the common folk by dressing his hate up in pseudoscientific terms.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
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While Washington was private about his Anglican beliefs and a supporter of religious freedom for all faiths, Christian nationalists have been reviving the image, and with it, the claim that the US is an inherently Christian nation at its origin.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purist. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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