experimentalism

[ ik-sper-uh-men-tl-iz-uhm ]

/ ɪkˌspɛr əˈmɛn tlˌɪz əm /

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noun

doctrine or practice of relying on experimentation; empiricism.

fondness for experimenting or innovating: The psychologists' children were raised in an atmosphere of vigorous experimentalism.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of experimentalism

First recorded in 1825–35; experimental + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM experimentalism

ex·per·i·men·tal·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use experimentalism in a sentence

As this collection proves, she has gotten stronger and stranger with age—an experimentalist hidden behind a household name.
Paris Review Editor Lorin Stein’s Book Bag: Ann Beattie, Ken Kalfus, and Other Short Stories|Lorin Stein|October 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I plainly see that you have the true spirit of an experimentalist and good observer.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
You should be 'an intrepid experimentalist, ceaselessly looking for new forms of existence.'
In Brief Authority|F. Anstey
An experimentalist who would have been a useful lecturer upon chemistry at the Royal Institution.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, February 25, 1893|Various

For starting ourselves from the same point with the Experimentalist and the authority he alleges—viz.
The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey--Vol. 1|Thomas de Quincey
For the present we shall conclude by recommending to the notice of the Experimentalist the German writers on education.
The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey--Vol. 1|Thomas de Quincey

British Dictionary definitions for experimentalism

experimentalism

/ (ɪkˌspɛrɪˈmɛntəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

employment of or reliance upon experiments; empiricism

Derived forms of experimentalism

experimentalist, 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