relativism

[rel-uh-tuh-viz-uhm]

noun

Philosophy.

1. any theory holding that criteria of judgment are relative, varying with individuals and their environments.

relativism

/ ˈrɛlətɪˌvɪzəm /

noun

1. any theory holding that truth or moral or aesthetic value, etc, is not universal or absolute but may differ between individuals or cultures See also historicism

relativism

1. The doctrine that no ideas or beliefs are universally true but that all are, instead, “relative” — that is, their validity depends on the circumstances in which they are applied.

Other Word Forms

• relativist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of relativism¹

First recorded in 1860–65; relative + -ism

Example Sentences

A flamboyant clergyman with a flair for vaping, Tedesco promises to cease “the sacrilege of relativism, placing all faiths as equal.”

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Climate denial imperils our existence and a pernicious relativism our democracy.

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Putin's vague remarks about religion were artfully dull and entirely unspecific, and to Carlson's ears might have sounded alarmingly like Western moral relativism.

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Has the hangover of moral relativism gotten so bad that the brutal deaths of 1,200 justify a literally limitless response?

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When he’s released and returns to Manhattan to rejoin his family, a new moral relativism follows him home.

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