pacifism

American  

[pas-uh-fiz-uhm] / ˈpæs əˌfɪz əm /

Also pacificism

noun

1. opposition to war or violence of any kind.

2. refusal to engage in military activity because of one's principles or beliefs.

3. the principle or policy that all differences among nations should be adjusted without recourse to war.

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pacifism British  

/ ˈpæsɪˌfɪzəm /

noun

1. the belief that violence of any kind is unjustifiable and that one should not participate in war

2. the belief that international disputes can be settled by arbitration rather than war

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pacifism Cultural  

1. The view that war is morally unacceptable and never justified (see conscientious objector). The term is sometimes applied to the belief that international disputes should be settled peacefully.

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Other Word Forms

• antipacifism
  noun
• propacifism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pacifism

1905–10; < pacifisme. See pacific, -ism

Explanation

Pacifism is the view that violence is always wrong. The day a playground bully announces his new belief in pacifism is a happy one for his former victims. The noun pacifism comes from the Latin word pacificus, "peaceful, or peace-making." People who are devoted to pacifism avoid any kind of violence in their own lives, which usually includes refusing to support wars or serve in the military. Famous practitioners of pacifism include Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jesus.

Example Sentences

Pacifism lies strong in Japan, a nation devastated by World War II, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2022

Pacifism has been a sacred tenet of Japan’s national identity since the end of World War II, when the United States pushed to insert a clause renouncing war into the country’s postwar Constitution.

From New York Times • Aug. 29, 2017

Pacifism is the ideological position, based on a range of ideas about politics, ethics, and the social, which holds that physical violence is never necessary.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2016

Arsalan Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer, founder of TheMuslimGuy.com and author of the book “Islamic Pacifism: Global Muslims in the Post-Osama Era.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 19, 2012

Pacifism is the belief that any violence, including war, is wrong under any circumstances.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• accord
• friendship
• love
• reconciliation
• truce
• unity