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sensualism

American  
[sen-shoo-uh-liz-uhm] / ˈsɛn ʃu əˌlɪz əm /

noun

  1. subjection to sensual appetites; sensuality.

  2. Philosophy. sensationalism.


sensualism British  
/ ˈsɛnsjʊəˌlɪzəm /

noun

  1. the quality or state of being sensual

  2. another word for sensationalism sensationalism

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of sensualism

First recorded in 1795–1805; sensual + -ism

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.

Hung, a French Vietnamese filmmaker whose eye for cinematic sensualism was on display in early works like “The Scent of Green Papaya” and “Cyclo,” here achieves something of a culinary contact high.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023

Miserablism and sensualism pair elegantly in this collaboration between FKA twigs and the Weeknd.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2021

The question of spiritual discipline has long been present in his writing: self-denial versus sensualism, the path of Jesus versus that of Byron.

From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2013

Epicurus has been branded as a libertine, and the name "Epicurean" has, in almost all languages, become the synonym of sensualism.

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)

Among a population grossly ignorant and uneducated, sensualism prevails in its most appalling forms.

From In the School-Room Chapters in the Philosophy of Education by Hart, John S. (John Seely)

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