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
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
Some of them were well-intentioned, like Attorney General Merrick Garland—who wanted to restore institutionalism to the Justice Department.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2024
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
When Will and Tom visit a Veterans Affairs facility in an early scene, Ms. Granik visually underscores the building’s chilly institutionalism yet also reminds you of the people inside it.
From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2018
In the last resort, criticism of the Church, of Christian institutionalism, is really criticism of ourselves.
From The Life of the Spirit and the Life of To-day by Underhill, Evelyn
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.
