commercialism
Americannoun
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the principles, practices, and spirit of commerce.
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a commercial attitude in noncommercial affairs; inappropriate or excessive emphasis on profit, success, or immediate results.
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a commercial custom or expression.
noun
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the spirit, principles, or procedure of commerce
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exclusive or inappropriate emphasis on profit
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of commercialism
Explanation
Commercialism is an attitude or philosophy devoted to supplying goods and services and making profits. The root of commercialism is commerce, which is the buying and selling of things. It can help you remember what commercialism is if you remember that commercials try to sell you things. Commercialism puts profits above all, so sometimes people use this word in a negative sense. For example, people complain about commercialism at Christmas, saying the religious meaning gets drowned out by the message to buy.
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.
They say the commercialism behind the movies is unimportant for an ordinary viewer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
The lights are up and the baubles are out: with trees across the country already decorated and on display, there has been some traditional grumbling about whether commercialism means it gets earlier every year.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025
But commercialism has won out over art, which is to say obviousness has run roughshod over subtlety.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025
His work continued to defy precepts of commercialism, language and politics.
From New York Times • Dec. 14, 2023
At the outset, he shared the university scientist’s traditional antipathy to the patent process, so redolent of commercialism and so distinctly unacademic.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
