sciolism

[ sahy-uh-liz-uhm ]
See synonyms for: sciolismsciolistic on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. superficial knowledge.

Origin of sciolism

1
First recorded in 1750–60; from Late Latin sciol(us) “one who knows little,” (diminutive of scius “knowing”; see conscious, -ole1) + -ism

Other words from sciolism

  • sci·o·list, noun
  • sci·o·lis·tic, adjective

Words Nearby sciolism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sciolism in a sentence

  • There are many positions in life wherein sciolism seems to be more profitable than knowledge.

  • This is scholarship; the secondary information that has been popular is sciolism.

  • Such an age of sciolism and scholasticism may possibly once more get the better of the literary world.

    Phaedrus | Plato
  • Few things are as distressing as the sciolism of a second-rate English editor of a classic.

    An American at Oxford | John Corbin

British Dictionary definitions for sciolism

sciolism

/ (ˈsaɪəˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. rare the practice of opinionating on subjects of which one has only superficial knowledge

Origin of sciolism

1
C19: from Late Latin sciolus someone with a smattering of knowledge, from Latin scīre to know

Derived forms of sciolism

  • sciolist, noun
  • sciolistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012