materialism

American  

[muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uhm] / məˈtɪər i əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

2. the philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe, and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies.

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materialism British  

/ məˈtɪərɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. interest in and desire for money, possessions, etc, rather than spiritual or ethical values

2. philosophy the monist doctrine that matter is the only reality and that the mind, the emotions, etc, are merely functions of it Compare idealism dualism See also identity theory

3. ethics the rejection of any religious or supernatural account of things

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materialism Cultural  

1. In philosophy, the position that nothing exists except matter — things that can be measured or known through the senses. Materialists deny the existence of spirit, and they look for physical explanations for all phenomena. Thus, for example, they trace mental states to the brain or nervous system, rather than to the spirit or the soul. Marxism, because it sees human culture as the product of economic forces, is a materialist system of beliefs.

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Other Word Forms

• antimaterialism
  noun
• materialist
  noun
• materialistic
  adjective
• materialistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of materialism

From the New Latin word māteriālismus, dating back to 1740–50. See material, -ism

Explanation

Materialism describes the belief that buying and having possessions is not just important, but a key to happiness in life, like the people whose materialism has so clouded their minds that they are more interested in your clothes and shoes than in what you are saying. Materialism has the word material in it. What is material? Well, it's stuff — anything you can see and touch, like a pile of books or a big, green lawn. To be material, a thing has to have physical form, unlike emotions, beliefs, deep conversations, thoughts. So materialism means putting all importance on stuff. Someone who suffers from materialism would rather be out spending money than spending time with loved ones.

Example Sentences

Materialism still dominates scientific thinking, but Koch highlights important gaps in this perspective.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Materialism can be the death of us all, indeed.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2023

Materialism is so counter to the mindset of most Tlonians that they simply do not understand it, no matter how cleverly it is propounded.

From Scientific American • Sep. 14, 2019

Materialism has “taken us hostage this Christmas,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2016

I next heard him in New Bedford, at the installation of Charles Lowe, when, in ill-health and feeble, he gave, in substance, the discourse on Materialism, afterwards published in the volume on "Immortal Life."

From Recollections and Impressions 1822-1890 by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks