What does "essayist" mean?

One who composes essays; a writer of short compositions.

What is a synonym for "essayist"?

Common synonyms include: author, novelist, advertising writer, annalist, art critic, authoress.

//ˈɛ.seɪ.ɪst// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
One who composes essays; a writer of short compositions.
"She was an essayist whose frequent contributions to the editorial pages of major newspapers had a loyal following."
2
a writer of literary works wordnet

"Do you know Waleed Al-Husseini, the Palestinian essayist who is threatened with death by Muslim fanatics?"

From essay + -ist.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.