materialism

[ muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uhm ]

/ məˈtɪər i əˌlɪz əm /

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noun

preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

the philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe, and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies.

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Origin of materialism

From the New Latin word māteriālismus, dating back to 1740–50. See material, -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM materialism

an·ti·ma·te·ri·al·ism, noun

Words nearby materialism

material, material cause, material culture, material girl, material implication, materialism, materialist, materialistic, materiality, materialize, materially

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

How to use materialism in a sentence

He also co-hosts the Materialism Podcast, a show about materials science.
Explainer: What is a metal?|Katie Grace Carpenter|January 12, 2022|Science News For Students
It’s a rebellion against the mainstream of materialism, of hypocrisy, of individualism, of the status quo.
Cold War Kids’ Nathan Willett: My Evangelical Struggle|Nathan Willett|September 22, 2021|The Daily Beast
They supplement this with messages from their peers, teachers, or from the culture around them, which, by and large, increasingly promotes competition and materialism.
Kids Are Getting the Wrong Message About Happiness. Here's What You Need to Tell Them|William Stixrud and Ned Johnson|August 20, 2021|Time
Both followed wars; people were tired of idealism and self-sacrifice and were determined to enjoy a self- indulgent materialism.
How Rock and Roll Killed Jim Crow|Dennis McNally|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It just feeds the fire of materialism, and feeds the fire of make up, and false attire, and whatnot.
Shailene Woodley Opens Up About Coming of Age, ‘Divergent,’ and the Faults in Our World|Marlow Stern|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You mentioned “materialism” earlier, and one of the themes of both The Hunger Games and Divergent is class warfare.
Shailene Woodley Opens Up About Coming of Age, ‘Divergent,’ and the Faults in Our World|Marlow Stern|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Youtube video of some jet-setting Buddhist monks has Thailand scrambling to crack down on materialism in the monastic ranks.
Jet-Setting Video of Thai Buddhist Monks Causes Scandal|Erin Cunningham|June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It seems the world of law and idol breaking needed something of the Greeks' materialism, too.
Christmas For Love, Chanukah For Awe|Bernard Avishai|December 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Materialism, it is objected, makes of man a mere machine, which is considered very debasing to the human race.
Superstition In All Ages (1732)|Jean Meslier
So atheism, and the disbelief of the existence of the soul after death, characterized that materialism.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
It was partly too to encourage "a religious and poetic sentiment" in Italy, and combat the dominant scepticism and materialism.
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King
In Euripides, we see the first fatal symptoms of the skepticism and materialism which finally overtook the Greek stage.
British Quarterly Review, American Edition, Volume LIV|Various
Hence she welcomed eagerly everything which seemed to show that materialism was the true philosophy of life.
Evolution of Life and Form|Annie Wood Besant

British Dictionary definitions for materialism

materialism

/ (məˈtɪərɪəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

interest in and desire for money, possessions, etc, rather than spiritual or ethical values

philosophy the monist doctrine that matter is the only reality and that the mind, the emotions, etc, are merely functions of itCompare idealism (def. 3), dualism (def. 2) See also identity theory

ethics the rejection of any religious or supernatural account of things

Derived forms of materialism

materialist, noun, adjectivematerialistic, adjectivematerialistically, adverb

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

Cultural definitions for materialism

materialism

In philosophy, the position that nothing exists except matter — things that can be measured or known through the senses. Materialists deny the existence of spirit, and they look for physical explanations for all phenomena. Thus, for example, they trace mental states to the brain or nervous system, rather than to the spirit or the soul. Marxism, because it sees human culture as the product of economic forces, is a materialist system of beliefs.

materialism

Origin of materialism

OTHER WORDS FROM materialism

Words nearby materialism

Words related to materialism

How to use materialism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for materialism

Derived forms of materialism

Cultural definitions for materialism