essentialist

American  

[uh-sen-shuh-list] / əˈsɛn ʃəˌlɪst /

noun

1. Philosophy. someone who follows the principles of essentialism, believing that the inward, or essential, nature of most things is invariable, as opposed to the properties that are accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc..

   The author calls gender essentialists to account for what she sees as their oversimplification of observed gender differences in children.

2. Education. someone who follows the principles of essentialism, a doctrine that certain traditional concepts, ideals, and skills are essential to society and should be taught methodically to all students.

   Essentialists argue that a key function of school is to give young people the basic knowledge necessary for good citizenship.

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adjective

1. following the principles of essentialism: Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum.

   Scholars are increasingly warning against reducing ancient religions to monolithic, essentialist entities.

   Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum.

Etymology

Origin of essentialist

essential ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

In fact, multiple studies have found that when kids have more essentialist beliefs about race, they also hold more stereotypes about other racial groups.

From Scientific American • Aug. 19, 2022

Is it essentialist, characterized by the artist’s ethnicity?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2022

A 2021 study supports Deutsch and Gaunt's conclusion: those researchers found that men who take longer paternity leave are less likely to endorse essentialist gender roles.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2022

Like Flaubert’s sentences, Saariaho’s writing here is crafted with the economy of an essentialist.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2021

And though I could never, myself, be a native of any of these worlds, I knew that nothing so essentialist as race stood between us.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates