protist
1 synonym for protist, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A protist is a eukaryotic organism, often single-celled, that is not classed as a plant, animal or fungus.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
protistan
How to use protist
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
single-celled protist
kingdom of protists
protist species
study of protists
A specialist term from microbiology and taxonomy, rarely used outside science.
Etymology
Protist comes from the scientific name Protista, which in turn goes back to the Ancient Greek word prōtistos.
Full origin of protist →Frequently asked questions
What is a protist?
It is a eukaryotic organism, usually single-celled, that does not fit into the plant, animal or fungus kingdoms.
Is Protista still used as an official scientific kingdom?
No, it was found to be an artificial grouping of unrelated organisms, and it has largely been dropped as a formal classification.
What are some examples of protists?
Protozoans, slime molds and some types of algae are commonly grouped as protists.
