I. -_lə̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: universal (I) + -ist
1.
a. : one who believes in universalism
b. usually capitalized : a member of a Christian denomination founded in America in the 18th century and holding the view that all men will be ultimately saved, employing a modified congregational polity, having at its head a general convention, and using no strictly creedal basis but having members who for the most part acknowledge their common purpose to be the performance of the will of God as revealed by Jesus Christ and the establishment of the kingdom for which he lived and died and who acknowledge belief in God, in the leadership of Jesus Christ, in the supreme worth of every human personality, in the authority of truth now known or to be known, in the power of men of goodwill to overcome evil, and in their power to establish progressively God's kingdom on earth
2.
a. : one who affects or is credited with universal knowledge, interests, or aptitudes
b. : one who regards or acts with regard to the whole
II. adjective
1. usually capitalized : of or relating to Universalists or their principles and practices
2. : universalistic