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nominalism

[ nom-uh-nl-iz-uhm ]
/ ˈnɒm ə nlˌɪz əm /

noun

(in medieval philosophy) the doctrine that general or abstract words do not stand for objectively existing entities and that universals are no more than names assigned to them.Compare conceptualism, realism (def. 5a).

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Origin of nominalism

From the French word nominalisme, dating back to 1830–40. See nominal, -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM nominalism

Words nearby nominalism

nomenklatura, Nomex, nominal, nominal aphasia, nominal damages, nominalism, nominalize, nominally, nominal par, nominal scale, nominal sentence
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Example sentences from the Web for nominalism

British Dictionary definitions for nominalism

nominalism
/ (ˈnɒmɪnəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

the philosophical theory that the variety of objects to which a single general word, such as dog, applies have nothing in common but the nameCompare conceptualism, realism

Derived forms of nominalism

nominalist, noun, adjectivenominalistic, adjective
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