par·tic·u·lar·ist I. \-_rə̇st\noun (-s) Etymology: French particulariste, from Late Latin particularis particular + French -iste -ist : an adherent of particularism II. adjective 1.: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of particularism < particularist … tendencies persisted and seriously complicated national political life — Renzo Sereno > 2.: of, relating to, or being a society in which the family unit is individualized