naturalist

noun

1. (obsolete)A natural philosopher; a scientist.

   “It has also been asserted, by some naturalists, that men do not attain their full growth and strength till thirty; but that women arrive at maturity by twenty.”

2. A person who believes in or advocates the tenets of philosophical or methodological naturalism.
3. An expert in natural history or the study of plants and animals.

   “I will leave off all my childish fooleries and diversions, and set about studying with such a rage, that when you come back next year, you may find the tongue I have now in my mouth more forky than that of some serpents mentioned by Pliny the naturalist.”

   “The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement I experienced when I at length captured it.”

4. A creative artist who attempts to faithfully represent nature; an adherent of artistic naturalism.

adj

1. Synonym of naturalistic.

   “Trinity received “Birds of America” in 1900 as a gift from Dr. Gordon Russell, a physician and alumnus who was a collector of ornithological and naturalist art.”

   “The restaurant feels of-the-moment Los Angeles in its naturalist beauty (plants breathe life into the minimalist space) and its wide-open creativity, though much of Bost’s culinary background is steeped in grand French traditions.”