institutionalism
Americannoun
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the system of institutions or organized societies devoted to public, charitable, or similar purposes.
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strong attachment to established institutions, as of religion.
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the policy or practice of using public institutions to house and care for people considered incapable of caring for themselves.
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the belief or policy that a church must maintain institutions of education, welfare, etc., for its members.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of institutionalism
First recorded in 1860–65; institutional + -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.
Matsumoto stresses the anonymity of modern institutionalism through a proliferation of numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
Boston University School of Law professor Jed Shugerman told Salon that particularly in the most recent Supreme Court term, Roberts has veered from institutionalism.
From Salon • Jul. 31, 2024
“We can be bolder. We can have greater energy. We can do things that are outside the box. This is not the time for institutionalism or incrementalism.”
From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2022
They have fully mastered the game of denial and deflection, dressed up as humility and institutionalism.
From Slate • Sep. 1, 2021
The temple, however, was but a part, and practically a small part, of the institutionalism of religion in this period.
From The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible by Newton, R. Heber
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.
