purism

American  

[pyoor-iz-uhm] / ˈpyʊər ɪz əm /

noun

1. strict observance of or insistence on purity in language, style, etc.

2. an instance of this.

3. Fine Arts. Often Purism a style of art developed in France in the early 20th century, characterized by the use of simple geometric forms and images evocative of objects produced by machine.

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purism British  

/ ˈpjʊəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. insistence on traditional canons of correctness of form or purity of style or content, esp in language, art, or music

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Other Word Forms

• purist noun
• puristic adjective
• puristically adverb

Etymology

Origin of purism

First recorded in 1795–1805; pure + -ism

Example Sentences

“There’s no point of having some kind of a revolutionary purism that you should only preach to the choir. That would be completely pointless,” Malm said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2023

He added: "The EU needs a new playbook for dealing with neighbours, one that involves pragmatic solutions between friends, not the imposition of one side's rules on the other and legal purism."

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2021

He picked pointless fights with his colleagues, lecturing them about his superior understanding of the law while flaunting his putative purism.

From Slate • Jul. 15, 2020

Nowadays, Arellano balances his appreciation for Kennedy with concerns about her purism.

From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2020

Yet the purism is only on the lips.

From Flowers of Freethought (Second Series) by Foote, G. W. (George William)