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View synonyms for pacifism

pacifism

[ pas-uh-fiz-uhm ]

noun

  1. opposition to war or violence of any kind.
  2. refusal to engage in military activity because of one's principles or beliefs.
  3. the principle or policy that all differences among nations should be adjusted without recourse to war.


pacifism

/ ˈpæsɪˌfɪzəm /

noun

  1. the belief that violence of any kind is unjustifiable and that one should not participate in war
  2. the belief that international disputes can be settled by arbitration rather than war
“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


pacifism

  1. The view that war is morally unacceptable and never justified ( see conscientious objector ). The term is sometimes applied to the belief that international disputes should be settled peacefully.


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Other Words From

  • anti·paci·fism noun
  • pro·paci·fism noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pacifism1

1905–10; < pacifisme. See pacific, -ism
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Example Sentences

Some of it, historian Frank Biess explains, was simply pacifism.

Mother goes in for public things—very strong on woman suffrage, charities, uplift, and pacifism.

Minding your own business leads to pacifism, malevolent neutrality, selfishness of every sort.

He was carrying his lily-livered pacifism right to the White House, and I couldn't see it.

Cramb tells us that all recent centuries have had their doctrines of pacifism, each century having its own characteristic variety.

The reason why pacifism is ineffectual is because it is an intellectual theory, which does not build on instinct.

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