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Epicureanism

[ep-i-kyoo-ree-uh-niz-uh m, -kyoo r-ee-]
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noun
  1. the philosophical system or doctrine of Epicurus, holding that the external world is a series of fortuitous combinations of atoms and that the highest good is pleasure, interpreted as freedom from disturbance or pain.
  2. (lowercase) epicurean indulgence or habits.
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Also Ep·i·cur·ism [ep-i-kyoo-riz-uh m, ep-i-kyoo r-iz-uh m] /ˈɛp ɪ kyʊˌrɪz əm, ˌɛp ɪˈkyʊər ɪz əm/.

Origin of Epicureanism

First recorded in 1745–55; epicurean + -ism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for epicureanism

Historical Examples

  • In modern times, as will be seen, Epicureanism has enjoyed a revival.

    Initiation into Philosophy

    Emile Faguet

  • We too have our popular Epicureanism, which would allow the world to go on as if there were no God.

    Laws

    Plato

  • The passage from pantheism to epicureanism is not a long one.

  • Epicureanism could have been carried no further than he had carried it.

    The New Tenant

    E. Phillips Oppenheim

  • My Epicureanism and her iron-bound individualism would have clashed.

    The Belovd Vagabond

    William J. Locke

Word Origin and History for epicureanism

n.

1751, with reference to a philosophy; 1847 in a general sense, from epicurean + -ism. Earlier was epicurism (1570s).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
epicureanism in Culture

Epicureanism

[(ep-i-kyoo-ree-uh-niz-uhm, ep-i-kyoor-ee-uh-niz-uhm)]

A form of hedonism defended by several philosophers of ancient Greece. For the Epicureans, the proper goal of action was pleasure — a long-term pleasure, marked by serenity and temperance.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.