Hellenism
Americannoun
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ancient Greek culture or ideals.
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the imitation or adoption of ancient Greek language, thought, customs, art, etc..
the Hellenism of Alexandrian Jews.
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the characteristics of Greek culture, especially after the time of Alexander the Great; civilization of the Hellenistic period.
noun
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the principles, ideals, and pursuits associated with classical Greek civilization
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the spirit or national character of the Greeks
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conformity to, imitation of, or devotion to the culture of ancient Greece
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the cosmopolitan civilization of the Hellenistic world
Etymology
Origin of Hellenism
First recorded in 1600–10, Hellenism is from the Greek word Hellēnismós an imitation of or similarity to the Greeks. See Hellene, -ism
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 monastery's property is being seized and expropriated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat," he said in a statement.
From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025
In the east, Romans maintained a measured reverence for Greek culture, embracing some elements of Hellenism.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
He struggles with a physical disability and he goes to great lengths to paper over the shortcomings of a similarly disabled Ph.D. student named Charles Walker, whose subject is Shelley’s Hellenism.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 11, 2019
So although the Maccabees started as opponents of Hellenism, they soon become among its most enthusiastic admirers and adopters.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2015
In Asia Minor, we have seen how, even before Alexander, Hellenism had begun to affect the native races and Persian nobility.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 2 "Hearing" to "Helmond" by Various
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.
