minimalist

UK: /ˈmɪnɪm^əlɪst/ US: (min′ə mə list)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

min•i•mal•ist  (min′ə mə list), n. 

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.

adj. 

3. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of minimalism.
4. being or offering no more than what is required or essential:
   a minimalist program for tax reform.

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

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

minimalist / 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

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

min•i•mal•ism /ˈmɪnəməˌlɪzəm/   n. [uncountable]

1. Show Business a style or method in literature, art, dance, or music that is simple, plain, and often repetitious and impersonal in tone.

min•i•mal•ist, n. [countable] See -min-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

min•i•mal•ism  (min′ə mə liz′əm), n. (sometimes cap.)

1. Music, Music and Dance a reductive style or school of modern music utilizing only simple sonorities, rhythms, and patterns, with minimal embellishment or orchestrational complexity, and characterized by protracted repetition of figurations, obsessive structural rigor, and often a pulsing, hypnotic effect.
2. Fine Art See minimal art. 

• minimal + -ism 1965–70