I. -_lə̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: formal (I) + -ist
1. : a person who adopts as a matter of form the current opinions and modes of action : timeserver
2.
a. : one overattentive to forms or too much confined to them
b. : one given to formalism : a formal person ; often : an advocate or proponent of a theory of formalism
3. : one that gives form : a form-giving power or element
the sun and moon, the great formalists in the sky — R.W.Emerson
II. adjective
: of or relating to formalists : formalistic