definitions

sciolism

[ sahy-uh-liz-uh m ]
/ ˈsaɪ əˌlɪz əm /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sciolism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

superficial knowledge.

Nearby words

scintillometer, scintillon, scintiphotography, scintiscan, scintiscanner, sciolism, sciomachy, sciomancy, scion, sciophyte, sciosophy

Origin of sciolism

1810–20; < Late Latin sciol(us) one who knows little (diminutive of scius knowing; see conscious, -ole1) + -ism

Related forms

sci·o·list, nounsci·o·lis·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sciolism

  • Few things are as distressing as the sciolism of a second-rate English editor of a classic.

    An American at Oxford|John Corbin

  • Such an age of sciolism and scholasticism may possibly once more get the better of the literary world.

    Phaedrus|Plato

  • This is scholarship; the secondary information that has been popular is sciolism.

    Education: How Old The New|James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for sciolism

sciolism

/ (ˈsaɪəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

rare the practice of opinionating on subjects of which one has only superficial knowledge

Derived Forms

sciolist, nounsciolistic, adjective

Word Origin for sciolism

C19: from Late Latin sciolus someone with a smattering of knowledge, from Latin scīre to know
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