minimalist

[ min-uh-muh-list ]

noun

1. a person who favors a moderate approach to the achievement of a set of goals or who holds minimal expectations for the success of a program.
2. a practitioner of minimalism in music or art.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of minimalism.
2. being or offering no more than what is required or essential:

   a minimalist program for tax reform.

Minimalist

¹

/ ˈmɪnɪməlɪst /

noun

1. a member of the faction of the Social Revolutionaries that advocated immediate postrevolutionary democracy
2. a less common name for a Menshevik

ˈminimalist

²

/ ˈmɪnɪməlɪst /

noun

1. a person advocating a minimal policy, style, technique, action, etc
2. a minimal artist

adjective

1. of or relating to minimal art or artists

Word History and Origins

Origin of minimalist¹

1905–10; in political use < French minimaliste ( minimal, -ist ), translation of Russian men'shevík Menshevik; subsequent uses perhaps recoinage with minimal, -ist

Example Sentences

In Pete Wells's review for The Noortwyck in The New York Times last November, he wrote that Chef Andy Quinn "finds the middle ground between grandeur and informality," adding that he's "exacting and precise, with a whole arsenal of skills and a minimalist sensibility that calls for most of the technical stuff to be tucked quietly into dishes that look simple and straightforward, even when they’re not."

From Salon

“Kaleidoscope” is a far preferable and more colorful description of Aitken’s ambition here, which takes stunning, impressionistic and often dreamlike images of ordinary people moving through extraordinary California landscapes, and stirs them into seemingly improvised songs as well as familiar minimalist masterpieces by composers like Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley.

From Los Angeles Times

And Yuka Takara’s choreography measures the relatively tight playing area with minimalist aplomb.

From Los Angeles Times

If, after flipping through this gorgeous tome you find yourself ready to sell everything you own and start from scratch as a high-end minimalist, who could blame you?

From Los Angeles Times

It is minimalist, he said, noting that one of his biggest influences is Claude Lanzmann, who directed “Shoah,” a nine-hour documentary on recollections of the Holocaust.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• essential
• minimal