-_lə̇st noun
( -s )
1. : one who leads a moral life
a moralist who practices what he preaches
2. : a teacher or student of morals : a thinker or writer concerned with moral principles and problems
was attracted particularly by the great classical moralists, and found in their ethical teaching inspiration and instruction — A.C.McGiffert
nowadays it is … far harder to be a moralist of any true simplicity of spirit — Lionel Trilling
like all good writers, a moralist at bottom — Bernard Kalb
3. : one who is concerned to regulate the morals of others
moralists looked upon it as a lewd distraction that would take the mind off work — Lewis Mumford
once the moralist … becomes the censor of art, with power to enforce his judgments, art is seriously jeopardized — Hunter Mead