utilitarian

American  

[yoo-til-i-tair-ee-uhn] / juˌtɪl ɪˈtɛər i ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to or consisting in utility.

2. having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   sensible, functional, useful, practical

3. of, relating to, or adhering to the doctrine of utilitarianism.

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noun

• utilitarians
  plural

1. an adherent of utilitarianism.

utilitarian British  

/ juːˌtɪlɪˈtɛərɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to utilitarianism

2. designed for use rather than beauty

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noun

1. a person who believes in utilitarianism

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiutilitarian
  adjective
• nonutilitarian
  adjective
• unutilitarian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• utilitarians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of utilitarian

First recorded in 1775–85; utilit(y) + -arian

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Explanation

The adjective utilitarian describes something that is useful or functional. If you are attracted to a car for its storage space and gas mileage — as opposed to its sparkly tire rims — then chances are you value a car's utilitarian features. The word utilitarian was coined by the philosopher and judge Jeremy Bentham, who argued that his principle of utility would create the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people." The noun form of utilitarian refers to a person who adheres to this philosophy of usefulness. "They couldn't agree on the decor for their living room. She wanted whimsy — delicate tables, fragile statues of fairies and unicorns, and cushions on the floor to sit on. He wanted something more utilitarian and useful — comfortable chairs, a giant TV, and sturdy tables to put your feet on."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

utilitarian utilitarians

Medals, reliefs, funerary monuments, large and small figure sculptures, plus a few utilitarian objects, offer a capsule history of modeling and casting in the Tuscan city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Over time, it went from being a utilitarian tool for the countryside to a cult classic, and a favourite of hippies and counter-culturalists.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

A cute AI agent is likely to generate more traction among consumers than a utilitarian large language model, Steinwold said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

He began with Kenyan utilitarian objects and commemorative sculptures before expanding into whatever captured his attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Here is Bertrand Russell using it to explain the movement called romanticism: The romantic movement is characterized, as a whole, by the substitution of aesthetic for utilitarian standards.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

As Bostrom writes, "for standard utilitarians, priority number one, two, three, and four should … be to reduce existential risk," the fifth being to colonize space.

From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2022

Classic utilitarians like Bentham and Mill believed that pleasure and pain are basic, primary means by which people navigate the world and find motivation.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Act utilitarians argue that we should apply the greatest happiness principle on a case-by-case basis.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

According to utilitarians, rules are made to be broken, when you make people happier by breaking them.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 10, 2020

But at bottom the Japanese are not utilitarians.

From Japan and the California Problem by Toyokichi Iyenaga

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Related Words

• functional
• sensible

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