essayist

[ es-ey-ist ]

noun

1. a writer of essays.

essayist

/ ˈɛseɪɪst /

noun

1. a person who writes essays

Word History and Origins

Origin of essayist¹

First recorded in 1600–10; essay + -ist

Example Sentences

On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Adam Serwer, the award-winning political essayist at The Atlantic, about how he explored the phenomenon in his recent article “The Rise of the Right Wing Tattletale.”

From Slate

Guest: Ross Barkan, journalist, essayist, and contributing writer to many places, including Slate, the Nation, and the New York Times Magazine.

From Slate

Jill Schary Robinson, a novelist, memoirist, essayist and journalist who was also daughter to one Hollywood executive and mother to another one, died Saturday in Beverly Hills, her family confirmed to The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

The fact that the essayist's most famous observation has survived for 170 years and is still quoted so widely today is a testament to its relatability - but also of how little progress has been made.

From BBC

New household goods at a time of rupture and despair can draw community closer and become totems, a rebirth of sorts, said Leslie Jamison, a Brooklyn novelist and essayist whose latest book, “Splinters,” is a personal exploration of her own divorce.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• author
• biographer
• columnist
• correspondent
• critic
• dramatist
• editor
• journalist
• novelist
• poet
• reporter
• screenwriter