-_lə̇st noun
( -s )
1. : one that believes in or advocates theological legalism
2. : one that views things from a legal standpoint ; especially : one that places primary and often excessive emphasis on legal principles as interpreted literally or on the formal structure of governmental institutions
he condemns … the legalist who divorces international law from politics — R.N.Swift
3. usually capitalized : one of a group of thinkers flourishing in China during the 3d and 4th centuries B.C. and greatly influencing Chinese ethical and political philosophy by an advocacy of government on the basis of a fixed body of laws as distinguished from the Confucian ideal of government by moral example
the authoritarianism of the Legalists — Times Literary Supplement