diarist

American

[dahy-uh-rist] / ˈdaɪ ə rɪst /

noun

a person who keeps a diary.

diarist British

/ ˈdaɪərɪst /

noun

a person who keeps or writes a diary, esp one that is subsequently published

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

diaristic adjective

Etymology

Origin of diarist

First recorded in 1810–20; diar(y) + -ist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“A diary is an assassin’s cloak which we wear when we stab a comrade in the back with a pen,” wrote William Soutar, a Scottish poet and diarist, in 1934.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Renée Zellweger's fourth film as the much-loved-yet-shambolic diarist, made £11.8m in its first four days after its release on Thursday.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2025

Everyone’s favorite analog diarist is smack dab in the middle of a universe ruled by tech.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025

Hur said there is “some reason to think” Carter and another enthusiastic diarist, George H.W.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2024

Just about everyone recognized the story from the diary, and by April, my days as Gul Makai, the secret diarist, would be over.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023