Artists refers to people who engage in creative visual or performing arts or, more broadly, creators in any field who express themselves through craft, imagination, or technique. In everyday usage, the term can denote skilled practitioners or a collective of makers, and may appear in discussions of culture, galleries, stages, or design. The word emphasizes creative agency and professional or hobbyist involvement in art forms.
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"The artists displayed vibrant portraits at the city gallery."
"Many artists collaborate with musicians to produce multimedia performances."
"She mentors young artists who are learning to refine their technique."
"The festival celebrated artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines."
The word artist originates from the Old French artiste (12th–14th centuries), from Latin ars, artis meaning 'skill, craft, art'. In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, 'artist' referred to a practitioner with formal training in the arts, often contrasted with craftspeople. The sense broadened in English to denote creators in painting, sculpture, architecture, and later in music, literature, and other fields. By the 18th–19th centuries, artist implied professional or highly skilled creator; by the 20th century, the term included a wider spectrum of creatives and contributed to modern ideas of 'artist as a concept' beyond traditional media. First known uses surface in mid-14th century French texts, with English attestations in the 14th–15th centuries, evolving through art theory and cultural discourse to its current broad application in all creative fields.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "artists" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "artists"
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US/UK/AU pronunciation centers on two syllables with primary stress on the first: AR-tists. IPA: US /ˈɑːr.tɪsts/, UK /ˈɑː.tɪsts/, AU /ˈɑː.tɪsts/. Start with a low-back rounded /ɒ/ or open /ɑː/ depending on accent, then a light /r/ (rhotic in US/CA, non-rhotic in many UK accents where /r/ is not pronounced), followed by a short /ɪ/ and an unvoiced /s/ plus /t/ cluster ending with /s/. Keep jaw slightly dropped for the first vowel; avoid tensing the tongue for the second syllable. Listen for the crisp /t/ and final /s/ for clear plural pronunciation.
Common errors include reducing the second syllable too much, saying /ˈærtəsts/ or /ˈɑːrtɪs/ instead of /ˈɑːr.tɪsts/. Another pitfall is a heavy /r/ in non-rhotic UK contexts; in many UK varieties you’ll hear /ˈɑː.tɪsts/ with a non-rhotic /r/. Finally, some speakers mispronounce the final cluster as /ɪsts/ or blend /t/ and /s/ too loosely, producing /ˈɑːr.ɪsts/ or /ˈɑːr.tɪs/ instead of /ˈɑːr.tɪsts/. To fix, emphasize the /t/ release and clearly articulate the final /s/.
In US English you generally hear a rhotic /r/ in the first syllable: /ˈɑr.tɪsts/. UK English tends to be non-rhotic in stricter varieties, yielding /ˈɑː.tɪsts/ with a weaker or silent /r/; the second syllable remains /tɪsts/. Australian English often follows rhotic tendencies closer to US but with slightly broader vowels; expect /ˈɑː.tɪsts/ or /ˈæːtɪsts/ depending on speaker, with clear final /s/. Across all, the stress remains on the first syllable.
Two main challenges: the /r/ quality and the /tɪs/ sequence. For rhotic accents, the /r/ can be tricky if you’re not fully releasing it after the first vowel. The /t/ in the second syllable often blends with the following /ɪ/ or /s/, making it sound like /tɪs/ or /tɪsts. Keeping the /t/ aspirated and ensuring the final /s/ is crisp helps avoid a muted ending. Practice with minimal pairs like /ˈɑr.tɪsts/ vs /ˈɑː.tɪsts/.
A distinctive feature is the potential vowel length difference between dialects and the presence or absence of rhoticity in the first syllable. In rhotic accents you maintain a noticeable /r/ before the /t/. In non-rhotic accents, the vowel can be longer and the /r/ is silent, affecting overall syllable shape. Also, some speakers may reduce /tɪ/ to /tɪ/ or /tɪz/ in rapid speech; you’ll hear a crisper /t/ in careful speech.
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