Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

presentist

American  
[prez-uhn-tist] / ˈprɛz ən tɪst /

noun

Theology.
  1. a person who maintains that the prophecies in the Apocalypse are now being fulfilled.


Etymology

Origin of presentist

First recorded in 1875–80; present 1 + -ist

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.

See Examples For:

This may be done from the best of motives, but it is shortsighted in the extreme — you might even say presentist.

From Washington Post Aug. 29, 2022

The presentist approach to the history of philosophy examines philosophical texts for the arguments they contain and judges whether their conclusions remain relevant for philosophical concerns today.

From Textbooks Jun. 15, 2022

“We can’t be presentist about this particular crime. That twinned marginalization is important to understand.”

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 19, 2021

He’s wrong, of course—but this whole mess should be quite instructive to anyone who wants to avoid the presentist trap of projecting motives onto a huge and diverse group of people who are long gone.

From Slate May 2, 2018

Lynch does, however, stress the presentist bias of Wikipedia entries: “Thomas Aquinas weighs in at just over 37,000 words on his life and major works; Michael Jackson warrants five times the space.”

From Washington Post Feb. 17, 2016

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training