Words with the suffix -ist
-ist means “one who practices or believes in”, from Greek -istes via Latin -ista. It makes a word into a noun or adjective.
16 examples of the suffix -ist
- artistart + -istone who practices art
- cyclistcycle + -istone who rides a cycle
- touristtour + -istone who goes on tours
- pianistpiano + -istone who plays piano
- dentistdent (tooth) + -istone who treats teeth
- floristflor (flower) + -istone who works with flowers
- chemistchemy (chemistry) + -istone who practices chemistry
- novelistnovel + -istone who writes novels
- activistactive + -istone who takes active action
- guitaristguitar + -istone who plays guitar
- socialistsocial + -istone who believes in socialism
- violinistviolin + -istone who plays violin
- therapisttherapy + -istone who practices therapy
- capitalistcapital + -istone who believes in capitalism
- pharmacistpharmacy + -istone who practices pharmacy
Also: scientist
How -ist works
The suffix '-ist' converts nouns (and sometimes adjectives) into nouns meaning a practitioner or adherent, often dropping a final 'e' or 'y' (changed to 'i') from the base word before attachment. No consonant assimilation occurs with '-ist' itself, but the base word may be Latin or Greek, making the connection less transparent.
Watch out: Words like 'list,' 'fist,' 'mist,' and 'gist' end in the letters '-ist' but contain no such suffix and simply have that sequence as part of their root.
To see suffixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.
Other common suffixes
- -able · capable of
- -ible · capable of
- -tion · act
- -ness · state
- -ly · in a specified manner
- -er · one who performs an action
- -ment · result
- -ful · full of
- -less · without
- -ous · having the quality of
- -ity · state
- -ism · doctrine
- -ize · to make or cause to become
- -al · of
- -ance · action
- -ence · action
- -ive · tending to
- -ship · state
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ist mean?
-ist means “one who practices or believes in”. It comes from Greek -istes via Latin -ista. The suffix '-ist' converts nouns (and sometimes adjectives) into nouns meaning a practitioner or adherent, often dropping a final 'e' or 'y' (changed to 'i') from the base word before attachment. No consonant assimilation occurs with '-ist' itself, but the base word may be Latin or Greek, making the connection less transparent.
What are some examples of words with the suffix -ist?
artist, cyclist, tourist, pianist, dentist, florist, chemist, novelist. The full list of 16 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the suffix -ist but don’t?
Words like 'list,' 'fist,' 'mist,' and 'gist' end in the letters '-ist' but contain no such suffix and simply have that sequence as part of their root.
What is a suffix?
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word. It often changes the part of speech: -ness turns the adjective kind into the noun kindness, and -ly turns quick into the adverb quickly.