nominalism

[ nom-uh-nl-iz-uh m ]

/ 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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Words nearby nominalism

nominal par, nominal scale, nominal sentence, nominal value, nominal wages, nominalism, nominalize, nominally, nominate, nomination, nominative

Origin of nominalism

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

OTHER WORDS FROM nominalism

nom·i·nal·ist, nounnom·i·nal·is·tic, adjectivenom·i·nal·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·nom·i·nal·is·tic, adjective

un·nom·i·nal·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for nominalism

Nominalism, the first form of materialism, is chiefly found among the English schoolmen.
Socialism: Utopian and Scientific|Frederick Engels
Ockham in particular falls very short of what I had expected; and his nominalism is strangely different from that of Berkeley.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 (of 3)|Henry Hallam
This passage appears to be as clear a statement of the main doctrine of Nominalism as can be found in Hobbes or Berkeley.
Aristotle|George Grote
His plan was to make theology plain and simple by founding it on the philosophical principles of nominalism.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8|Various

But Anselm did not rest with combating the Nominalism of Roscelin.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V|John Lord

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