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Aristotelian

American  
[ar-uh-stuh-teel-yuhn, -tee-lee-uhn, uh-ris-tuh-] / ˌær ə stəˈtil yən, -ˈti li ən, əˌrɪs tə- /
Or Aristotelean

adjective

  1. of, pertaining to, based on, or derived from Aristotle or his theories.


noun

  1. a follower of Aristotle.

Aristotelian British  
/ ˌærɪstəˈtiːlɪən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Aristotle or his philosophy

  2. (of a philosophical position) derived from that of Aristotle, or incorporating such of his major doctrines as the distinctions between matter and form, and substance and accident, or the primacy of individuals over universals

"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

noun

  1. a follower of Aristotle

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Aristotelian

1600–10; < Latin Aristotelī ( us ) < Greek Aristotéleios of Aristotle + -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The work suggests Dante recognized meteors as real geological forces at a time when Aristotelian beliefs still portrayed the heavens as perfect and unchanging.

From Science Daily • May 11, 2026

Stafford Hopkins, the protagonist of Patricia Flynn’s debut novel, has made the climb from a rural Canadian childhood to the peak of Hollywood success, thanks in part to his love of Aristotelian philosophy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Venn gave us a simple, turn-the-crank means of clearly seeing why the 15 forms of the Aristotelian syllogism – and only those 15 forms – are valid.

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2024

Chun joined the family business in 2019, straight after graduating with a degree in philosophy from Columbia University, where he wrote his senior thesis on Aristotelian ethics.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2024

One of the old declarations of the medieval Aristotelian doctrine—as strong as the ban on the vacuum—was the statement that Earth was unique.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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