aestheticism
[es-thet-uh-siz-uh m or, esp. British, ees-]
noun
the acceptance of artistic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard, ethical and other standards being secondary.
an exaggerated devotion to art, music, or poetry, with indifference to practical matters.
a late Victorian movement in British and American art characterized by a dedicatedly eclectic search for beauty and by an interest in old English, Japanese, and classical art.
Also estheticism.
Origin of aestheticism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for aestheticism
style, perception, appreciation, elegance, culture, feeling, grace, breeding, improvement, fashion, art, ability, science, practice, experience, civilization, skill, susceptibility, polish, correctnessExamples from the Web for aestheticism
Historical Examples of aestheticism
The prevalence of such a sensualism or aestheticism would alone suffice to explain the impotence of the arts.
Three Philosophical PoetsGeorge Santayana
We may divide human artifacts into two classes, namely, those of utility and those of aestheticism.
The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism—Teaism.
The Book of TeaKakuzo Okakura
It will be interesting to note in what ritualistic harbor the aestheticism of our day will finally moor.
The Complete Essays of C. D. WarnerCharles Dudley Warner
It is a custom that is instinctively condemned by everyone from the standpoint of both hygiene and aestheticism.
Encyclopedia of DietEugene Christian
aestheticism
sometimes US estheticism
noun
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper