solipsism

[sol-ip-siz-uh m]

noun

Philosophy. the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist.

extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.

Origin of solipsism

1880–85; sol(i)-¹ + Latin ips(e) self + -ism

Related formssol·ip·sis·mal, adjectivesol·ip·sist, noun, adjectivesol·ip·sis·tic

[sol-ip-sis-tik] /ˌsɒl ɪpˈsɪs tɪk/, adjective

Can be confusedsolecism solipsism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for solipsist

Historical Examples of solipsist

To use a philosophical term, the paranoiac is the Simon-pure "solipsist."
The Behavior of Crowds
Everett Dean Martin

British Dictionary definitions for solipsist

solipsism

noun

philosophy the extreme form of scepticism which denies the possibility of any knowledge other than of one's own existence

Derived Formssolipsist, noun, adjectivesolipsistic, adjective

Word Origin for solipsism

C19: from Latin sōlus alone + ipse self

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

Word Origin and History for solipsist

solipsism

1871, coined from Latin solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)) + ipse "self." The view or theory that self is the only object of real knowledge or the only thing that is real. "The identification of one's self with the Absolute is not generally intended, but the denial of there being really anybody else" [Century Dictionary].

solipsist in Culture

solipsism

[(sol-uhp-siz-uhm, soh-luhp-siz-uhm)]

The belief that all reality is just one's own imagining of reality, and that one's self is the only thing that exists.