sensationalism
subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste.
the use of or interest in this subject matter, language, or style: The cheap tabloids relied on sensationalism to increase their circulation.
Philosophy.
the doctrine that the good is to be judged only by the gratification of the senses.
the doctrine that all ideas are derived from and are essentially reducible to sensations.
Psychology. sensationism.
Origin of sensationalism
1Other words from sensationalism
- sen·sa·tion·al·ist, noun, adjective
- sen·sa·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
- non·sen·sa·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sensationalism in a sentence
She thinks “that there’s kind of a sensationalism” when people die, which contributed to Peep’s continuously rising star.
After the untimely deaths of young rappers, fans are determined to continue their legacy | Ilana Kaplan | December 4, 2020 | Washington PostResearchers say that model is partially responsible for the spread of misinformation and sensationalism online, since shocking or emotionally-charged content is especially good at getting people’s attention.
How Social Media Is Shaping Our Fears of — and Response to — the Coronavirus | Alejandro de la Garza | March 16, 2020 | TimeAnyway, far be it from me to get on my high horse about sensationalist covers.
No surprise there, despite the sensationalist media coverage that, perhaps by design, left people wondering, “Will they make it?”
A Pilot’s Take on the 747 That Landed at the Wrong Kansas Airport | Patrick Smith | November 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYes, the tabloids can be tacky, sensationalist, intentionally misleading, and ethically suspect.
What You Can Learn From John Edwards and Rielle Hunter | Michelle Cottle | June 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Telling sensationalist, lurid, even sleazy stories, to me, is fine!
Valentine began, startled out of his invertebrate placidity by a sensationalist more original than himself.
Lady Lilith | Stephen McKennaHe is indeed an original thinker and a bold experimenter, but he is not a sensationalist or a seeker for popular applause.
Major Prophets of To-Day | Edwin E. SlossonOuida beats them all; her latest story is more wicked than those of the modern sensationalist, and better told.
A Girl of the Commune | George Alfred HentyLocke derives it from sense; so do the philosophers of the sensationalist school.
The sensationalist is bound to affirm that they have the same origin.
History of Civilization in England, Vol. 1 of 3 | Henry Thomas Buckle
British Dictionary definitions for sensationalism
/ (sɛnˈseɪʃənəˌlɪzəm) /
the use of sensational language, etc, to arouse an intense emotional response
such sensational matter itself
Also called: sensualism philosophy
the doctrine that knowledge cannot go beyond the analysis of experience
ethics the doctrine that the ability to gratify the senses is the only criterion of goodness
psychol the theory that all experience and mental life may be explained in terms of sensations and remembered images
aesthetics the theory of the beauty of sensuality in the arts
- Also called (for senses 3, 4): sensationism
Derived forms of sensationalism
- sensationalist, noun, adjective
- sensationalistic, adjective
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
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