-ist /əst, ɪst/ BrE AmE suffix
[ Language: Old French ; Origin: -iste , from Latin -ista , -istes , from Greek -istes , from verbs ending in -izein ; ⇨ ↑ -ize ]
1 . [in nouns] someone who believes in a particular religion or set of principles or ideas:
a Buddhist
an atheist
a Scottish Nationalist
2 . [in adjectives] relating to or showing a particular political or religious belief:
her socialist views
rightist parties (=political parties with ↑ right-wing opinions)
3 . [in nouns] someone who studies a particular subject, plays a particular instrument, or does a particular type of work:
a linguist (=someone who studies or learns languages)
a novelist (=someone who writes ↑ novel s )
a guitarist (=someone who plays the ↑ guitar )
a machinist (=someone who operates a machine)
⇨ ↑ -ologist
4 . [in adjectives] treating people unfairly because of something:
a very sexist remark (=making unfair differences between men and women)
5 . [in nouns] someone who treats people unfairly because of something:
They’re a bunch of racists.