atomist

C2 Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈætəmɪst/ UK /ˈætəmɪst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an adherent of atomism, especially the doctrine that matter or reality consists of indivisible elementary particles

Democritus is remembered as an ancient atomist who explained change through moving particles.
2

noun
historical: a supporter of a scientific atomic theory

The nineteenth-century atomist treated chemical reactions as rearrangements of atoms.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an adherent of atomism,... atomistic philosopher

2 noun · historical: a supporter of... atomic theorist

Opposites

holist

Word family

Forms atomists

Derived forms atomistic

Related forms atom atomismcorpuscularian

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

atomist theory
a theory that describes matter as composed of small, indivisible particles

Noun + noun

Etymology

Formed from atom + -ist after atomism. Atom comes through Latin atomus from Greek atomos ("uncut, indivisible"), from a- ("not") + temnein ("to cut"). The label has been applied both to ancient philosophical atomism and to later scientific atomic theories.

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style General Vocabulary

External links

# atomist

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈætəmɪst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈætəmɪst/

## Meanings
1. an adherent of atomism, especially the doctrine that matter or reality consists of indivisible elementary particles
2. historical: a supporter of a scientific atomic theory

## Examples
- Democritus is remembered as an ancient atomist who explained change through moving particles.
- The nineteenth-century atomist treated chemical reactions as rearrangements of atoms.

## Synonyms
- atomistic philosopher
- atomic theorist

## Antonyms
- holist

## Derived Forms
- atomistic

## Related Forms
- atom
- atomism
- corpuscularian

## Etymology
Formed from atom + -ist after atomism. Atom comes through Latin atomus from Greek atomos ("uncut, indivisible"), from a- ("not") + temnein ("to cut"). The label has been applied both to ancient philosophical atomism and to later scientific atomic theories.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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