materialistic
Americanadjective
-
excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.
-
adhering to the philosophy of materialism, a theory that regards matter as constituting the universe and all its phenomena.
Other Word Forms
- antimaterialistic adjective
- antimaterialistically adverb
- materialistically adverb
- nonmaterialistic adjective
- nonmaterialistically adverb
- semimaterialistic adjective
- unmaterialistic adjective
- unmaterialistically adverb
Etymology
Origin of materialistic
Explanation
Who doesn’t love the nice things that money can buy? But if all you care about is the stuff you have and the stuff you want to buy, you are materialistic. Anyone who is obsessively focused on money, or cares deeply about owning luxury goods can be described as materialistic. Material is a synonym for matter: anything that exists. Originally, materialism was a philosophy that "only matter exists." But in 1851, American fiction writer Nathaniel Hawthorne tweaked the definition to mean “a way of life based entirely on consumer goods," a meaning that endures.
Vocabulary lists containing materialistic
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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Tuesdays with Morrie
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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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.
Mr. Ennos is hard on the materialistic lifestyle, and this view can be defended.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
Mozart and his librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, meant to make us squirm as they uncover our insecurities and the faults in our materialistic facades.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2025
"I don't have anything particularly sentimental, it's all materialistic, it can be replaced when it gets broken."
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2024
I love stuff, especially stuff that feels like it might add an element of personalization in a society that so often subscribes to materialistic monoculture.
From Slate • Jul. 29, 2024
I think it flattered him that I enjoyed his classes so much I take them for no materialistic reason like credit and an A, but for the sheer beauty of chemistry itself.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
