1. a person who believes in or practices holism, the view that wholes are more than the sum of their parts
Usage: philosophy, psychology; often contrasted with reductionist

Examples

• The holist argues that understanding a person requires looking at their entire life context, not just individual behaviors.
• A holist in medicine might consider a patient's emotional and social well-being alongside physical symptoms.
• The holist rejected the idea that complex systems could be fully explained by studying their individual components.
• Many holists believe that ecosystems function as integrated wholes rather than collections of separate organisms.