-ist /əst, ɪst/ 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 novels)
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.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲