particularism
Americannoun
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exclusive attention or devotion to one's own particular interests, party, etc.
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the principle of leaving each state of a federation free to retain its laws and promote its interests.
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Theology. the doctrine that divine grace is provided only for the elect.
noun
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exclusive attachment to the interests of one group, class, sect, etc, esp at the expense of the community as a whole
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the principle of permitting each state or minority in a federation the right to further its own interests or retain its own laws, traditions, etc
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theol the doctrine that divine grace is restricted to the elect
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of particularism
From the French word particularisme, dating back to 1815–25. See particular, -ism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her sense of humor has a rooted particularism, and her comic timing is sharp.
From The New Yorker • Nov. 11, 2019
But at this moment, right in the middle of a sentence describing her personal belief in moral particularism, Bell is stumped by something she can’t explain.
From The Guardian • Sep. 26, 2018
Over time, elision became neglect: Partial articulations of a world of peoples were conflated with the very toxic particularism they had been created to realistically combat.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2018
It seems only logical to some American academics, students, and politically engaged writers that Jews and Palestinians should get over their particularism and live in a single shared state.
From Slate • Jan. 2, 2014
Overpassing Jewish particularism, it often approaches Christianity in doctrine and spirit, so that some80 have even assumed a Christian origin for it.
From The Canon of the Bible by Davidson, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
