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
Changes will always anger traditionalists and purists as any sports league manager is all too aware.
—
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Crow said the party needs to keep open arms to welcome back voters who picked Trump in the 2024 election, not purge all but the purists.
—Andrew Solender, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
Instead, the studio said nothing, and purists began to revolt.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 25 Mar. 2025
Although Disney promised to approach that aspect of the story with greater sensitivity, purists can rest assured that the director Marc Webb and the screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson have seen fit to keep Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, and Dopey in the picture.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purist
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Crow said the party needs to keep open arms to welcome back voters who picked Trump in the 2024 election, not purge all but the purists.
—Andrew Solender, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
Instead, the studio said nothing, and purists began to revolt.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 25 Mar. 2025
Although Disney promised to approach that aspect of the story with greater sensitivity, purists can rest assured that the director Marc Webb and the screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson have seen fit to keep Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, and Dopey in the picture.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purist
Noun
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Plenty of Phish-heads may be annoying, but so are plenty of Deadheads, metalheads, hip-hop heads, yacht-rock ironists, Springsteen fanatics.—
Will Hermes,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2025
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An old pal of mine — a Dodgers fanatic who adores Monfort the way Bugs Bunny adored Elmer Fudd — likes to joke that there are only two types of Rockies fans left at Coors Field by the All-Star break: Barely alive or barely sober.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Quebec nationalists believe that at the right time and under the right circumstances, a third referendum will be the charm.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Apr. 2025
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In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on Blair House, where President Harry Truman lived during the White House's renovation.—
Barbara A. Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purist. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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