1
as in instrumentalists
a person who plays a musical instrument
the violinist was a famous and exquisitely talented musician
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in composers
a person who writes musical compositions
that musician is known for having written music that is very difficult to perform
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of musicians
Born to a long line of musicians and entertainers (their great-grandparents were vaudevillians), Gunnar and Matt started writing music at age 6, shooting to fame in their own right after launching hard rock duo Nelson in the early 1980s.
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Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
From there, however, the video leaves The Doors’ native SoCal and heads off around the world to draw upon musical contributions from more than 20 musicians and dancers from eight different countries.
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
Undercover’s musicians also participated in red carpet appearances and media coverage including interviews with Y100 and NBC 6.
—Christina Mayo, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
The awards will run on CBS and Paramount+ between 8pm-11pm ET/5pm-8pm PT on January 11 with a plethora of movies stars, musicians and actors from shows such as Heated Rivalry and Stranger Things taking to the stage.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
And though some male musicians, like the British rocker Yungblud or the R&B singer 4batz, have faced industry plant accusations, anyone paying attention can see that this term is mostly directed at female musicians.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2026
The movie tells the true story of amateur musicians Mike (Hugh Jackman) and Claire (Hudson) Sardina, who meet and fall in love at the Wisconsin State Fair before forming the Neil Diamond tribute duo Lightning and Thunder — and rise to improbable success.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026
Grammy-award-winning musicians The Roots and Stephanie Mills will be coming to Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend to headline the city's annual Artscape festival.
—Adam Thompson, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
Vaca Atolada Known for its intimate roda de samba, Vaca Atolada features musicians playing in a circle while the audience becomes an extension of the band.
—Aaron Randolph, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musicians
Noun
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The competition was open to instrumentalists, vocalists and groups of all nationalities.—
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Since Chuck Berry’s first hits, rock’s most famous instrumentalists have been lead guitarists, who step out in front of the band with flashy solos.—
Noun
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As a new addition to WME’s Music for Visual Media department, Ray joins an elite roster of composers that includes Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Ludwig Göransson, Jonny Greenwood, Max Richter, Mica Levi, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Volker Bertelmann, Clément Ducol and Camille, among others.—
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The program will center on the work of female composers.—
Noun
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Marginalized and unknown artists and writers have become a standard of failure.—
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Iglesias, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, is widely considered the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world.—
Cite this Entry
“Musicians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musicians. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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