meliorism

[ meel-yuh-riz-uh m, mee-lee-uh- ]

/ ˈmil yəˌrɪz əm, ˈmi li ə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR meliorism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the doctrine that the world tends to become better or may be made better by human effort.

Words nearby meliorism

melinda, melinite, melioidosis, meliorate, melioration, meliorism, meliority, melisma, melissa, melitene, melitis

Origin of meliorism

1855–60; < Latin melior better + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM meliorism

mel·io·rist, noun, adjectivemel·io·ris·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for meliorism

So he becomes the eloquent apostle of meliorism, proclaiming his gospel without abatement.
The Vitalized School|Francis B. Pearson
Meliorism treats salvation as neither inevitable nor impossible.
Pragmatism|William James
Meliorism, the theory that there is in nature a tendency to better and better development.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia|Edited by Rev. James Wood
As an inevitable result of all the influences that constitute his world he finds himself yearning for meliorism as the crownpiece.
The Vitalized School|Francis B. Pearson

Be they false or be they true, the meaning of them is this meliorism.
Pragmatism|William James

British Dictionary definitions for meliorism

meliorism

/ (ˈmiːlɪəˌrɪzəm) /

noun

the notion that the world can be improved by human effort

Derived forms of meliorism

meliorist, adjective, nounmelioristic, adjective

Word Origin for meliorism

C19: from Latin melior better

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

meliorism

noun

Content related to meliorism

Words related to meliorism

Words nearby meliorism

Origin of meliorism

OTHER WORDS FROM meliorism

Examples from the Web for meliorism

British Dictionary definitions for meliorism

noun

Derived forms of meliorism

Word Origin for meliorism