industrialism
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of industrialism
First recorded in 1825–35; industrial + -ism
Explanation
Industrialism is a system that depends heavily on manufacturing goods, rather than farming or making things by hand. Industrialism is the economic system of a society that has transitioned away from an agrarian economy (mostly based on growing and selling crops) to one that relies on industry. Industrialism tends to increase a country’s wealth as more money is made from manufacturing plants and big factories, and it makes cheaper goods more widely available. However, large-scale industry can also create hazardous working conditions and pollution. The Latin root of industrialism means "hard work."
Vocabulary lists containing industrialism
Chapter 23: Political and Industrial Revolutions
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Vocabulary Review, Unit 2
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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.
He continued later that the two discussed how industrialism “grows only by consuming, once and for all, the living world.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Down on the ground the reality of industrialism was starkly different.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
These tensions intensified during the industrialism unleashed by the Civil War and mass immigration.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
Status quo waste management is just like status quo industrialism.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2022
In England, a new industrialism was growing, and on the continent, a new nationalism.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
