specialist
specialists
A specialist has an area of expertise in a profession or branch of learning. Call an ear, nose, and throat specialist if you can’t shake a stuffy nose, but go to a Shakespeare specialist to learn about King Lear.
Specialist started off as a word used just for doctors who focused particular diseases or parts of the body, but now a specialist can be someone with a narrow focus in any field. A specialist is any professional with a specialty — lawyers are specialists because each lawyer deals with a specific kind of legal work. To be a specialist you have to study or get experience in a specific field for a long time.
Definitions of specialist
-
an expert who is devoted to one occupation or branch of learning
-
synonyms:
specialiser, specializer
-
Antonyms:
-
Renaissance man, generalist
a modern scholar who is in a position to acquire more than superficial knowledge about many different interests
-
examples:
-
Alphonse Bertillon
French criminologist (1853-1914)
-
Charles Eames
United States designer noted for an innovative series of chairs (1907-1978)
-
types:
- show 21 types...
- hide 21 types...
-
enologist, fermentologist, oenologist
a specialist in wine making
-
attache
a specialist assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission
-
canonist
a specialist in canon law
-
criminologist
a specialist in criminology
-
crystallographer
a specialist in crystallography
-
dietician, dietitian, nutritionist
a specialist in the study of nutrition
-
educationalist, educationist
a specialist in the theory of education
-
fingerprint expert, fingerprint man, fingerprint specialist
a specialist in identifying fingerprints
-
Germanist
a specialist in the study of Germanic language or culture or literature
-
designer, graphic designer
someone who specializes in graphic design
-
graphologist, handwriting expert
a specialist in inferring character from handwriting
-
decorator, designer, house decorator, interior decorator, interior designer, room decorator
a person who specializes in designing architectural interiors and their furnishings
-
limnologist
a specialist in the study of freshwater ponds and lakes
-
meteorologist
a specialist who studies processes in the earth's atmosphere that cause weather conditions
-
oculist, optometrist
a person skilled in testing for defects of vision in order to prescribe corrective glasses
-
orientalist
a specialist in oriental subjects
-
Teutonist
a specialist in the history of the Teutonic people or language (especially with respect to the Teutonic influence on the history of England)
-
arborist, tree surgeon
a specialist in treating damaged trees
-
cultural attache
an attache who is a specialist in cultural matters
-
military attache
an attache who is a specialist in military matters
-
weather forecaster, weatherman
predicts the weather
-
type of:
-
expert
a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully
-
Renaissance man, generalist
-
practices one branch of medicine
-
synonyms:
medical specialist
-
examples:
- show 26 examples...
- hide 26 examples...
-
Jean Martin Charcot
French neurologist who tried to use hypnotism to cure hysteria (1825-1893)
-
Harvery Williams Cushing
United States neurologist noted for his study of the brain and pituitary gland and who identified Cushing's syndrome (1869-1939)
-
Sir Howard Walter Florey
British pathologist who isolated and purified penicillin, which had been discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming (1898-1968)
-
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis (1856-1939)
-
Harold Hirschsprung
Danish pediatrician (1830-1916)
-
Karen Danielsen Horney
United States psychiatrist (1885-1952)
-
Karl Theodor Jaspers
German psychiatrist (1883-1969)
-
Melanie Klein
United States psychoanalyst (born in Austria) who was the first to specialize in the psychoanalysis of small children (1882-1960)
-
Baron Richard von Krafft-Ebing
German neurologist noted for his studies of sexual deviance (1840-1902)
-
Karl Landsteiner
United States pathologist (born in Austria) who discovered human blood groups (1868-1943)
-
Prosper Meniere
French otologist who first described a form of vertigo now known as Meniere's disease and identified the semicircular canals as the site of the lesion (1799-1862)
-
Charles Frederick Menninger
United States psychiatrist who with his sons founded a famous psychiatric clinic in Topeka (1862-1953)
-
Karl Augustus Menninger
United States psychiatrist and son of Charles Menninger (1893-1990)
-
William Claire Menninger
United States psychiatrist and son of Charles Menninger (1899-1966)
-
Sir James Paget
English pathologist who discovered the cause of trichinosis (1814-1899)
-
Wilhelm Reich
Austrian born psychoanalyst who lived in the United States; advocated sexual freedom and believed that cosmic energy could be concentrated in a human being (1897-1957)
-
John Rock
United States gynecologist and devout Catholic who conducted the first clinical trials of the oral contraceptive pill (1890-1984)
-
Francis Peyton Rous
United States pathologist who discovered viruses that cause tumors (1879-1970)
-
Hermann Snellen
Dutch ophthalmologist who introduced the Snellen chart to study visual acuity (1834-1908)
-
Benjamin Spock
United States pediatrician whose many books on child care influenced the upbringing of children around the world (1903-1998)
-
Harry Stack Sullivan
United States psychiatrist (1892-1949)
-
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
French neurologist (1857-1904)
-
Henry Hubert Turner
United States endocrinologist (1892-1970)
-
Rudolf Karl Virchow
German pathologist who recognized that all cells come from cells by binary fission and who emphasized cellular abnormalities in disease (1821-1902)
-
Karl Wernicke
German neurologist best known for his studies of aphasia (1848-1905)
-
Thomas Willis
English physician who was a pioneer in the study of the brain (1621-1675)
-
types:
- show 32 types...
- hide 32 types...
-
anaesthetist, anesthesiologist, anesthetist
a specialist who administers an anesthetic to a patient before he is treated
-
baby doctor, paediatrician, pediatrician, pediatrist
a specialist in the care of babies
-
cardiologist, heart specialist, heart surgeon
a specialist in cardiology; a specialist in the structure and function and disorders of the heart
-
chiropodist, foot doctor, podiatrist
a specialist in care for the feet
-
dermatologist, skin doctor
a doctor who specializes in the physiology and pathology of the skin
-
diagnostician, pathologist
a doctor who specializes in medical diagnosis
-
diplomate
medical specialist whose competence has been certified by a diploma granted by an appropriate professional group
-
ear doctor, ear specialist, otologist
a physician who specializes in the ear and its diseases
-
embryologist
a physician who specializes in embryology
-
endocrinologist
physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the endocrine system
-
ENT man, ear-nose-and-throat doctor, otolaryngologist, otorhinolaryngologist, rhinolaryngologist
a specialist in the disorders of the ear or nose or throat
-
geriatrician, gerontologist
a specialist in gerontology
-
gynaecologist, gynecologist, woman's doctor
a specialist in gynecology
-
haematologist, hematologist
a doctor who specializes in diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs
-
hygienist
a medical specialist in hygiene
-
internist
a specialist in internal medicine
-
brain doctor, neurologist
a medical specialist in the nervous system and the disorders affecting it
-
accoucheur, obstetrician
a physician specializing in obstetrics
-
oncologist
a specialist in oncology
-
eye doctor, oculist, ophthalmologist
a medical doctor specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye
-
orthopaedist, orthopedist
a specialist in correcting deformities of the skeletal system (especially in children)
-
orthoptist
a specialist in orthoptics
-
proctologist
a doctor specializing in diseases of the rectum and anus
-
head-shrinker, psychiatrist, shrink
a physician who specializes in psychiatry
-
radiographer
a person who makes radiographs
-
radiologist, radiotherapist
a medical specialist who uses radioactive substances and X-rays in the treatment of disease
-
rheumatologist
a physician specializing in rheumatic diseases
-
urologist
a specialist in urology
-
alienist
a psychiatrist and specialist in the legal aspects of mental illness
-
analyst, psychoanalyst
a licensed practitioner of psychoanalysis
-
aetiologist, etiologist
a specialist in the etiology of diseases
-
perinatologist
an obstetrician specializing in perinatology
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘specialist'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing specialist
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 8
This list focuses on human resources, culture, and diversity (Unit 2, Chapter 8). Here are links to all the chapters of Unit 2, Business Organization and Management: Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 Here are links to all the units of the business textbook published by South-Western Cengage Learning: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4
"Building Design and Construction Handbook," Vocabulary from Section 1
This list focuses on building systems.
Things Not Seen
What would you do if you woke up one morning and discovered you were invisible? That's the question fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips has to answer in this thought-provoking novel.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up specialist for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
