meliorism

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

noun

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

meliorism

/ ˈmiːlɪəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. the notion that the world can be improved by human effort

Other Word Forms

• meliorist adjective
• melioristic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meliorism¹

1855–60; < Latin melior better + -ism

Word History and Origins

Origin of meliorism¹

C19: from Latin melior better

Example Sentences

He explained, “In the spirit of American meliorism, the criticism is to make things better, not necessarily because I didn’t like it.”

From New York Times

What if the real way forward weren’t a great leap but grinding, tedious, unglamorously incremental change—what George Eliot called “meliorism”?

From The New Yorker

For some realists, “global meliorism” — the belief that U.S. foreign policy can and should try to make a better world — is a dirty word.

From Washington Post

The world-view of Judaism, which regards the entire economy of life as the realization of the all-encompassing plan of an all-wise Creator, is accordingly an energizing optimism, or, more precisely, meliorism.

From Project Gutenberg

In the midst of a futile meliorism which deceives the more, the more it soothes, he stands out like some sinister skeleton at the feast, regarding the festivities with a flickering and impenetrable grin.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• advance 
• advancement 
• change 
• development 
• enhancement 
• gain 
• growth 
• increase 
• progress 
• recovery 
• renovation 
• revision 
• rise 
• upgrade