hedonism

American  

[heed-n-iz-uhm] / ˈhid nˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.

2. devotion to pleasure as a way of life.

   The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism.

   Synonyms:

   carousal, dissipation, debauchery, libertinism, sensualism

   Antonyms:

   self-denial, abstemious, asceticism, puritanism

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hedonism British  

/ ˈhɛd-, ˈhiːdəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. ethics

   1. the doctrine that moral value can be defined in terms of pleasure See utilitarianism

   2. the doctrine that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good

2. the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of principle

3. indulgence in sensual pleasures

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hedonism Cultural  

1. In ethics, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good in life. Some hedonists, such as the Epicureans, have insisted that pleasure of the entire mind, not just pleasure of the senses, is this highest good.

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Other Word Forms

• hedonic adjective
• hedonist noun

Etymology

Origin of hedonism

First recorded in 1855–60; from Greek hēdonḗ “pleasure, enjoyment” + -ism

Explanation

Strictly speaking, hedonism is the belief that pursuing pleasure leads to the greatest ethical good. In practice, though, the ethical part sometimes gets lost in the pleasure part. Hedonism originally hails from the Greek word hedone, meaning "pleasure." In Ancient Greece, hedonism really did have an ethical component, and its adherents really believed that society would be best served if you as an individual cultivated those things that gave you the greatest pleasure, instead of the self-denial inherent in other philosophies and religions. Over time the philosophical aspect of hedonism has faded and we are left an idea that looks to us very much like, well, Las Vegas.

Example Sentences

I want my students and children’s friends to be healthy, but I also understand the gesture, the fashionable nihilism, the hedonism, the why not.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Beachler: The first sketches of the juke joint I drew were red, representing capitalism, hedonism, all the things we are under the cover of the dark.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025

Zandra Rhodes tells the BBC that she's channelling "the 70s hedonism that people are nostalgic for right now".

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2024

After a breezy “Rock Your Body” and embracing 2000s club hedonism on “SexyBack,” a harnessed-up Timberlake returned for his “Mirrors” encore atop the LED vessel that carried him above the crowd.

From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024

Its swaths of deep brush and arable land made it great for farming but less appealing for honeymoons and hedonism.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore